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

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $302.8333.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LECO shares. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $253.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $248.00 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $272.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.56. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $310.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $13.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.24.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.8% in the third quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.8% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.8% during the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 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 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.