Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Bumped Up to “Buy” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

LECO has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $271.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $283.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.11.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 2.6%

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $276.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric has a 1-year low of $216.22 and a 1-year high of $310.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.17. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 40.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 11.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.30%.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 36.7% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the third quarter worth about $407,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the third quarter worth about $12,025,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 6.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.