Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target Raised to $247.00 at Morgan Stanley

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $247.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on LECO. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $297.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock opened at $244.27 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $271.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $310.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.24.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3,700.0% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

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.