Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target to $238.00

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $241.00 to $238.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company's stock.

LECO has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an underweight rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Lincoln Electric from $257.00 to $252.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $216.63.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.9 %

Lincoln Electric stock traded up $2.01 on Friday, hitting $229.94. 482,687 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 283,921. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $248.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.44. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $156.80 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 45.09%. The firm had revenue of $981.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is 30.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,575.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LECO. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 81.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.