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

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

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LECO. DA Davidson started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $261.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $272.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $216.22 and a 52 week high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves manufacturers, fabricators, construction companies, maintenance and repair operations, utilities, and other industrial customers.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories, and related safety products. Lincoln Electric also provides automated and robotic welding systems, engineered solutions, training, and technical support.