Short Interest in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Declines By 11.5%

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 799,400 shares, a decrease of 11.5% from the January 31st total of 903,100 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 287,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $195.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $196.52 and a 200 day moving average of $197.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on LECO. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $307,344,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,062,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 81.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $210,831,000 after acquiring an additional 494,464 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,117,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 15,932.5% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 336,682 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,118,000 after purchasing an additional 334,582 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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