Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $216.14 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $169.51 and a 52 week high of $261.13. The company has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $198.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.44.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.