Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Given New $247.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $247.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.77% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $253.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $297.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock traded down $2.88 during trading on Monday, reaching $245.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 136,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,381. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $272.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.56. The firm has a market cap of $13.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.24. Lincoln Electric has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $415,155,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,041 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $146,135,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 439.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,691,000 after buying an additional 486,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 675.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 310,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,107,000 after purchasing an additional 270,000 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.