Brokerages Set Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Target Price at $226.33

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $221.67.

A number of research firms have weighed in on LECO. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of LECO stock opened at $194.71 on Monday. Lincoln Electric has a twelve month low of $164.00 and a twelve month high of $261.13. The stock has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $188.74 and a 200 day moving average of $202.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 8.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.8% in the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 14,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 191,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,698,000 after acquiring an additional 7,685 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 21,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,039,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.