Recent Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Lincoln Electric (LECO)

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ: LECO) recently:

• 4/29/2024 – Lincoln Electric had its “market perform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc..
• 4/26/2024 – Lincoln Electric had its price target lowered by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $257.00 to $252.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 4/26/2024 – Lincoln Electric had its price target lowered by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $241.00 to $238.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 4/17/2024 – Lincoln Electric had its price target raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $239.00 to $241.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $219.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.00 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $247.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.76.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 30.15%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at $731,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 142.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after purchasing an additional 8,061 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,565 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth $859,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 16,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.