Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Announces Earnings Results

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) released its earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $981.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 45.09% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of LECO traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $228.28. The company had a trading volume of 161,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,565. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $156.80 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $249.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LECO shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $257.00 to $252.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.