Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Releases Earnings Results

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $2.23 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 analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 45.09% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $228.44. 144,323 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 279,565. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $249.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.38. Lincoln Electric has a one year low of $156.80 and a one year high of $261.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $12.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LECO. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $257.00 to $252.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

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

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.