Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Lincoln Electric shares reached a new 12-month high of $228.65, reflecting strong market activity with 402,152 shares traded.
• Various analyst ratings have fluctuated, with Stifel Nicolaus increasing their price target to $236.00, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.32%, set to be paid on October 15th.

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $228.65 and last traded at $226.95, with a volume of 402152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LECO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $180.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $222.60.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 1.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $208.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 39.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.99%.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,527 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $325,359,000 after acquiring an additional 234,515 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 16.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,597,000 after buying an additional 188,104 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,235,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $231,691,000 after acquiring an additional 31,033 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 726,112 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $136,124,000 after purchasing an additional 75,651 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $110,062,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.