Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $233.60.

LECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $5.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $190.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 363,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 309,734. The firm has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $197.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.99.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. Research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

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.