Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

LECO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.67.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $217.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $169.51 and a 52 week high of $261.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.94 and a 200 day moving average of $198.36.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 8.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.89%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

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.