<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $250.53 and last traded at $248.08, with a volume of 21073 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $247.16.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Lincoln Electric</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><h2>Analyst Ratings Changes</h2><p>LECO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an &#34;overweight&#34; rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings  reissued a &#34;buy (b-)&#34; rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital  set a $285.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric and gave the company a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded Lincoln Electric from a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating to a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned  a Hold rating and one  has issued  a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company  has a consensus rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average target price of $247.00.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Research Report on LECO</b></p><h2>Lincoln Electric Price Performance</h2><p>The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company's fifty day moving average price is $234.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.25. </p><p>Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 40.33%. Lincoln Electric's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share.  Equities research analysts expect that  Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year. </p><h2>Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend</h2><p>The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio  is 32.12%. </p><h2>Insiders Place Their Bets</h2><p>In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total value of $233,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,177 shares in the company, valued at $2,140,351.71. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders. </p><h2>Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric</h2><p>A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of  Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000.  Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of  Lincoln Electric by 3,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period.  Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of  Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000.  Vermillion &amp; White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in  Lincoln Electric by 82.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion &amp; White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter.  Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in  Lincoln Electric by 3,860.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own  79.61% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Lincoln Electric Company Profile</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Lincoln Electric</li><li>How to Effectively Use the MarketBeat Ratings Screener</li><li>Top 3 Winter Stocks With Solid Growth Opportunities</li><li>Insider Selling Explained: Can it Inform Your Investing Choices?</li><li>2026 Comeback Picks: 3 S&amp;P Laggards Poised to Break Out</li><li>Diversification Can Smooth Returns And Mitigate Portfolio Risk</li><li>Tesla Bulls See $500 Ahead—But Bears Warn of a Painful Reversal</li></ul><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Lincoln Electric Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Lincoln Electric, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Lincoln Electric wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Lincoln Electric currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

LECO

<p>Lincoln Electric's stock reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $250.53. Analysts have adjusted their ratings, with Barclays increasing the price target to $260 and Roth Capital setting it at $285. The company reported strong quarterly earnings, beating estimates, and announced a dividend increase. Insider trading and hedge fund activities were noted, with institutional investors modifying their holdings.</p>

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened