Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Given New $230.00 Price Target at KeyCorp

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) had its price target boosted by KeyCorp from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the industrial products company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LECO. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock traded down $3.02 on Thursday, reaching $207.51. 273,135 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 318,932. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $169.51 and a 52 week high of $261.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $193.08 and a 200 day moving average of $197.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. The firm 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 for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.89%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in the first 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 last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.