Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target Raised to $241.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $239.00 to $241.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 0.87% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LECO. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.50.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ LECO opened at $238.93 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric has a fifty-two week low of $155.21 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The stock has a market cap of $13.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $248.49 and a 200-day moving average of $217.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 45.09% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.9% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $11,888,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 20.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during 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.