Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.38.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $281.96 on Friday. Lincoln Electric has a 12 month low of $216.22 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $261.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $264.39. The stock has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 11.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, United Community Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

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.