Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $249.50.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LECO shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $265.00 to $252.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $208.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ LECO opened at $257.32 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $255.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $239.34 and its 200 day moving average is $236.12.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $538,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 100,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,042,000 after acquiring an additional 14,022 shares in the last quarter. 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.