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

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 964,600 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the February 13th total of 799,400 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 302,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO opened at $194.38 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $197.91 and its 200-day moving average is $196.95. The stock has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. 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 results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. On average, analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 36.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LECO shares. 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. KeyCorp raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.