Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (LECO) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 31st

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.79 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, January 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a 5.3% increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75.

Lincoln Electric has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 30 years. Lincoln Electric has a dividend payout ratio of 31.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lincoln Electric to earn $10.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.3%.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.5%

LECO stock opened at $246.47 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.55. The company has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.25. Lincoln Electric has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $252.00.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LECO. Barclays lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Roth Capital set a $285.00 price target on Lincoln Electric and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $265.00 to $252.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.83.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.