Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target Cut to $212.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its price target decreased by Robert W. Baird from $220.00 to $212.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $218.29.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $175.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $194.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.15. Lincoln Electric has a 52 week low of $164.00 and a 52 week high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 30.15%.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,704,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1,423.8% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $266,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 349,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,820 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

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.