Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Receives $299.38 Average PT from Analysts

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $299.3750.

LECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. United Community Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of LECO opened at $267.25 on Friday. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $216.22 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $260.11 and its 200-day moving average is $263.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.Lincoln Electric’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 32.61%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.