Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, a drop of 13.6% from the May 31st total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 368,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $188.64 on Friday. 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 $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $208.15 and its 200-day moving average is $225.35.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. The firm had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 9.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, April 29th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 38,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,002,000 after acquiring an additional 10,017 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 17,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,240,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 25,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,599,000 after purchasing an additional 133 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.