Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target Increased to $185.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $184.00 to $185.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential downside of 4.26% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on LECO. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.67.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $193.24. 9,294 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 319,132. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $164.00 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $188.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,880.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LECO. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lincoln Electric

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.