Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $253.00.

LECO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,850,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,478,000 after buying an additional 72,826 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $354,063,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,558,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $323,167,000 after acquiring an additional 83,035 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 31.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,946,000 after purchasing an additional 221,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $265.35 on Friday. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $268.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 40.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.