Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Raised to Strong-Buy at UBS Group

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.9%

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $286.97 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.92. The company has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric has a fifty-two week low of $216.22 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.