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

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $206.40.

A number of equities analysts have commented on LECO shares. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $191.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Lincoln Electric has a 12 month low of $161.11 and a 12 month high of $222.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $185.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.08. The company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,974,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.7% in the first quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lincoln Electric

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.