Analysts Set Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Target Price at $208.56

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $210.25.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $208.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LECO. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 1,422.2% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 81.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the third quarter worth about $34,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of LECO traded down $2.93 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $255.44. 242,379 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 291,174. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $152.36 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $241.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.51. The company has a market cap of $14.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 45.09%. Lincoln Electric's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is presently 30.31%.

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.