Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $244.8333.

Several research analysts have commented on LECO shares. Roth Capital set a $285.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $265.00 to $252.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3,475.4% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 51,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,100,000 after purchasing an additional 49,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 19.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $251.71 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $252.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.33% and a net margin of 12.56%.Lincoln Electric’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.83%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.