Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.38.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.1%

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $281.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $261.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $264.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $216.22 and a 52 week high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 11.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. 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.