Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Receives $220.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $220.00.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $193,556.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $3.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $213.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 159,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,987. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $201.37 and a 200-day moving average of $195.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.16. 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 12-month low of $169.51 and a 12-month high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The company had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Lincoln Electric's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.80%.

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.