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

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $302.8333.

Several equities research analysts have commented on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $253.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, February 13th.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Lincoln Electric

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $415,155,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,041 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $141,550,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $146,135,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 439.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,691,000 after buying an additional 486,090 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $282.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $268.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.82. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 33.91%.

About Lincoln Electric

(Get Free Report)

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.

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