Lincoln Electric (LECO) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) will issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.17 per share for the quarter. Parties that wish to register for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Lincoln Electric to post $10 EPS for the current fiscal year and $10 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $236.61 on Thursday. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $155.21 and a 12-month high of $261.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $248.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.38.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 30.31%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,575.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Lincoln Electric 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1,422.2% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 68.0% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. 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 increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.50.

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.