Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.8%

LECO opened at $253.06 on Friday. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $216.22 and a 52 week high of $310.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $268.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Michael Whitehead sold 845 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $656,165,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 25,707.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 16,583,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,403,012,000 after buying an additional 16,518,967 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $956,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,077 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $415,155,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,700,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves industrial, construction, energy, transportation and other end markets that use fabrication and joining technologies.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding machines, welding consumables such as electrodes and wire, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, robotic welding systems, and related automation solutions.