Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target to $241.00

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its price target lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $239.00 to $241.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 1.86% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on LECO. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.50.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO traded down $2.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $236.61. 232,916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 276,142. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $248.12 and its 200 day moving average is $217.25. The stock has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.24. Lincoln Electric has a 1-year low of $155.21 and a 1-year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 45.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LECO. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 20.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Threadgill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.6% during the first quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.