Brasada Capital Management LP Takes $797,000 Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Brasada Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth $2,761,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth about $10,820,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth $26,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth about $2,162,000. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth $292,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LECO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley raised Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.60 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $259.80. 124,872 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 387,812. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $216.22 and a 12-month high of $310.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $268.47 and its 200-day moving average is $263.38.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results 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. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.57%.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves industrial, construction, energy, transportation and other end markets that use fabrication and joining technologies.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding machines, welding consumables such as electrodes and wire, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, robotic welding systems, and related automation solutions.