Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LECO. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. DA Davidson started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $259.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $272.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.79. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $216.22 and a 1 year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the third quarter worth $138,000. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 13.1% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth about $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 23.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the third quarter worth about $2,800,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves manufacturers, fabricators, construction companies, maintenance and repair operations, utilities, and other industrial customers.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories, and related safety products. Lincoln Electric also provides automated and robotic welding systems, engineered solutions, training, and technical support.