Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 799,400 shares, a decline of 11.5% from the January 31st total of 903,100 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 287,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of LECO opened at $195.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.07. Lincoln Electric has a twelve month low of $169.51 and a twelve month high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.60.

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.