Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $225.17.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $195.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.5 %

LECO stock traded down $1.03 on Friday, hitting $189.86. 176,410 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 316,580. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.16. The business's fifty day moving average is $204.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.77. Lincoln Electric has a twelve month low of $169.51 and a twelve month high of $261.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $983.76 million during 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. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 8.74 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is 35.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake 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 worth $57,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

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.