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

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $233.60.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $194.38 on Thursday. Lincoln Electric has a one year low of $169.51 and a one year high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $197.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.95.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. Research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $307,344,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,062,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,117,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 15,932.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 336,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,118,000 after purchasing an additional 334,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $474,527,000 after purchasing an additional 280,466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

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.