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

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $307.2222.

LECO has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. DA Davidson began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.1%

LECO stock opened at $257.20 on Monday. Lincoln Electric has a fifty-two week low of $216.22 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The company has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $268.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 118.8% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves industrial, construction, energy, transportation and other end markets that use fabrication and joining technologies.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding machines, welding consumables such as electrodes and wire, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, robotic welding systems, and related automation solutions.