Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Lowered to "Market Perform" at Oppenheimer

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Oppenheimer from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LECO. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. 888 reiterated a "maintains" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, April 28th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, CL King began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, May 16th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $187.00.

LECO opened at $210.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $188.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.40. Lincoln Electric has a 1-year low of $120.01 and a 1-year high of $210.86. The company has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 48.56% and a net margin of 12.08%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 9.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, CEO Christopher L. Mapes sold 89,030 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $17,291,406.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 180,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,034,180.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Lincoln Electric news, COO Steven B. Hedlund sold 8,235 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.52, for a total value of $1,371,292.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,123 shares in the company, valued at $6,847,801.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher L. Mapes sold 89,030 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total transaction of $17,291,406.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,034,180.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,795 shares of company stock worth $21,180,395. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 68.0% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 257 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 155.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 334 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.91% of the company's stock.

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, as well as consumables used in the brazing and soldering alloys market.

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