Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.17, Zacks reports. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $258.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.31. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $216.22 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 31st will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 31.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LECO has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. UBS Group began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $271.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.78.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves customers in industries including construction, manufacturing, energy, transportation and heavy equipment.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories and personal protective equipment. Lincoln Electric also provides robotic and automated welding systems, industrial automation solutions, application engineering, training and maintenance services.