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

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 302,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Elios Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $999,000. Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,771 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 237,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,688,000 after acquiring an additional 7,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $499,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $194.38 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $197.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $169.51 and a 12-month high of $261.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LECO. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.