Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target to $264.00

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its target price reduced by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $300.00 to $264.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 4.38% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LECO. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 target price (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $297.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $240.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.14.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded up $10.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $252.93. The company had a trading volume of 76,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,828. Lincoln Electric has a one year low of $162.84 and a one year high of $310.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $270.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.88. The stock has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $415,155,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,041 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,135,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 439.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,691,000 after acquiring an additional 486,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 675.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 310,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,107,000 after acquiring an additional 270,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.