Lincoln Electric’s (LECO) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their hold rating on shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $280.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $350.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $240.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $297.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.29.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $243.67 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $271.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.59. Lincoln Electric has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.28.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 33.91%.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 553.4% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 362,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,582,000 after purchasing an additional 29,505 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,017,000 after purchasing an additional 10,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Lincoln Electric

Here are the key news stories impacting Lincoln Electric this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple near‑term and multi‑year EPS forecasts for Lincoln Electric (several quarter raises and FY2027 → $11.39, FY2028 → $11.84), which supports a higher earnings trajectory and is a constructive fundamental signal.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley published bullish research forecasting strong price appreciation for LECO, reinforcing demand from some institutional investors. Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lincoln Electric (Article)
• Neutral Sentiment: Lincoln Electric scheduled its Q1 2026 earnings webcast for April 30 (10:00 AM ET) — a date investors will watch for updated guidance and commentary that could move the stock. Lincoln Electric Schedules Webcast for First Quarter 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded LECO to a Hold, which can trigger selling from investors who follow that house view. Jefferies downgrades Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO)
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target from $310 to $280 (still an overweight rating). The lower target reduces near‑term upside implied by that broker and may weigh on sentiment despite the maintained positive rating. Barclays Lowers Price Target for Lincoln Electric

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.