Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Trading Up 9.3% Following Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Lincoln Electric's stock price surged 9.3% after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $2.60 exceeding analyst estimates by $0.29.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, to be paid on October 15th, representing a 1.23% yield and a payout ratio of 36.99%.
• Recent analyst ratings have varied, with price targets ranging from $180 to $250, leading to an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $222.60.

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) rose 9.3% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $242.43 and last traded at $244.16. Approximately 422,184 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the average daily volume of 346,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.33.

The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 16.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,597,000 after buying an additional 188,104 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 31,033 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 11.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $110,062,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 535,434 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.6%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $211.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21.

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.