Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $210.50.

Several research firms recently commented on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, 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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,381,000 after buying an additional 4,770 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $925,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,377,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,110,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 361,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,642,000 after buying an additional 8,223 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $238.36 on Monday. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $155.21 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $248.62 and its 200 day moving average is $218.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.26. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 45.09%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.31%.

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.