Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Downgraded by StockNews.com

by · The Markets Daily

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other research firms have also commented on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $226.33.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on LECO

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $193.57. The stock had a trading volume of 192,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,600. The business’s fifty day moving average is $188.55 and its 200-day moving average is $203.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric has a 1-year low of $164.00 and a 1-year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 12.48%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 4.2% during the third quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 191,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,698,000 after buying an additional 7,685 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 4.2% during the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 21,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,039,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 4.8% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 26.2% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

(Get Free Report)

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.

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