KeyCorp Issues Positive Forecast for Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Price

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at KeyCorp from $230.00 to $245.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price indicates a potential upside of 13.89% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.25.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $215.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 247,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,306. The firm has a market cap of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Lincoln Electric has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $194.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.82.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. Research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elios Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $999,000. Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 85.5% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,771 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.5% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 237,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,688,000 after purchasing an additional 7,962 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth approximately $499,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.