Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

LECO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.33.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $192.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 206,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,388. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $190.59 and a 200-day moving average of $207.45. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $164.00 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.