Wall Street Zen Downgrades Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) to Hold

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

LECO has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $253.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $216.22 and a 12-month high of $310.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $268.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Michael Whitehead sold 845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.