Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Receives $296.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $296.00.

LECO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $260.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $188.65 and a 12-month high of $310.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.66.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LECO. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $956,360,000 after buying an additional 3,824,077 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 4.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $415,155,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,175,000 after buying an additional 6,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,280,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,767,000 after purchasing an additional 158,305 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.