Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LECO. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research cut Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.83.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $287.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.26. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3,700.0% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 82.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

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.