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Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $656,165,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,677,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $415,155,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 23.2% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 64,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,005,000 after acquiring an additional 12,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,175,000 after acquiring an additional 6,070 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Lincoln Electric this week:

Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings expectations: Zacks Research raised its EPS forecasts across multiple periods, including Q1 2027 to $2.73 from $2.66, Q2 2027 to $3.27 from $3.24, and Q4 2027 to $3.06 from $3.02. Its FY2027 forecast increased to $12.08 from $11.88, above the current-year consensus of $11.13. Lincoln Electric analyst estimates Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth outlook improved: Zacks lifted its Q1 2028 EPS estimate to $2.95 from $2.88, Q2 2028 to $3.43 from $3.37, and FY2028 to $12.90 from $12.62. The upward revisions suggest expectations for continued earnings expansion at the industrial-products company. Lincoln Electric long-term earnings estimates Positive Sentiment: GARP and industry positioning: Zacks identified LECO as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price candidate, citing solid prospects relative to valuation. The company was also included among manufacturing-tools stocks positioned to benefit from increased manufacturing activity, technological progress and strategic acquisitions. GARP stocks article Manufacturing tools stocks article Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts have commented on LECO shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.22. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LECO

Lincoln Electric Price Performance NASDAQ LECO opened at $273.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.33. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.22 and a twelve month high of $310.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.57%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric In related news, EVP Michael Whitehead sold 845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile (Free Report)

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.

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Key Takeaways Lincoln Electric shares rose 8% as Q2 adjusted EPS beat estimates and revenues hit a record $1.22B.Organic sales grew 10.1%, driven by 7.7% pricing and 2.4% volume growth.LECO raised 2026 sales growth guidance to the low-double-digit range after record cash flow. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (LECO - Free Report) shares have gained 8% since it reported second-quarter 2026 results on July 30.  Adjusted earnings came in at $2.93 per share, up 12.7% year over year. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.81 by 4.27%.

Including one-time items, the bottom line was $2.88 per share compared with $2.56 in the year-ago quarter.

LECO's Sales Mix Benefits From Price and VolumeRevenues increased 12% to a record $1.22 billion and beat the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion by 4.45%. Results benefited from 10.1% organic sales growth, with volumes contributing 2.4% and pricing at 7.7%. Acquisitions contributed 1.5%, primarily reflecting the Alloy Steel acquisition, and favorable foreign currency translation added 0.4%.

Consumables sales increased in the low-teens percentage range, equipment sales rose by a high-single-digit percentage and automation sales advanced by a mid-single-digit percentage. Four of the company’s five major end markets grew, led by a mid-30% increase in general fabrication. However, transportation declined by a mid-single-digit percentage. 

Lincoln Electric's Margin Performance ImprovesThe cost of goods sold increased 12.8% year over year to $770.7 million. Gross profit rose 10.7% to $449 million, while the gross margin contracted 50 basis points to 36.8%.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 6.6% to $224.9 million. However, SG&A expenses, as a percentage of sales, declined 100 basis points to 18.4%. 

Adjusted operating income climbed 14.9% to $224.1 million, with the adjusted operating margin expanding 50 basis points to a record 18.4%.

LECO's Americas Welding Business Gains MomentumAmericas Welding revenues increased 11.2% year over year to $774.4 million. Volume growth of 7.1% reflected gains across all product areas, led by accelerated capital spending. Pricing contributed 3.7%, while currency movements provided a 0.4% benefit. We expected the segment’s net sales to be $754 million in the quarter. 

Adjusted EBIT rose 14.6% to $158.1 million. The segment’s adjusted EBIT margin improved 110 basis points to 19.7%, aided by operating leverage from higher volumes and a narrower price-cost headwind. Tariff refunds also supported profitability. Our prediction for the segment’s adjusted operating income was $148 million. 

Lincoln Electric's International Results Face Volume PressureInternational Welding sales rose 4.5% to $243.3 million, as a 7% acquisition contribution and modest pricing and currency benefits offset a 4.7% volume decline. Organic sales were hurt by slowing demand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, including a $2 million impact from the Middle East conflict. We expected the segment’s net sales to be $236 million in the quarter. 

Adjusted EBIT declined 12.9% to $26.6 million, while the adjusted EBIT margin contracted 210 basis points to 10.6%. Lower EMEA volumes weighed on the segment’s profitability despite growth in Asia Pacific and contributions from Alloy Steel. We predicted an adjusted operating profit of $28.8 million. 

LECO's Harris Products Group Delivers Sales & Profit GrowthThe Harris Products Group’s sales increased 26.9% to $201.9 million. A 34.2% pricing benefit, reflecting higher year-over-year metal costs, primarily silver, more than offset an 8.2% volume decline. Volumes were down 8.2% as it faced difficult year-over-year comparisons in HVAC and the retail channel. Our projection for the segment’s net sales was $171 million.

Adjusted EBIT advanced 32.5% to $42.3 million. The adjusted EBIT margin expanded 100 basis points to 20.4%, supported by SG&A leverage and a tariff refund. Our prediction for the segment’s adjusted operating income was $34.3 million.

Lincoln Electric Generates Record Cash FlowCash flow from operations reached a record $253.8 million, up from $143.8 million a year earlier. Free cash flow totaled $222.3 million, resulting in cash conversion of 138%. 

LECO returned $120 million to shareholders, including $43.4 million in dividends and $76.1 million in share repurchases. Cash and cash equivalents were $242.4 million at quarter-end, while total debt declined to $1.15 billion from $1.29 billion at the end of 2025. 

LECO Raises Its 2026 Sales AssumptionLincoln Electric raised its 2026 net sales growth assumption to the low-double-digit percentage range from the high-single-digit range. Management expects one-third of organic growth to come from volume and two-thirds from pricing.

The company anticipates neutral price-cost conditions and a mid-20% incremental adjusted operating margin in the second half. It also projects capital expenditures of $110-$130 million, a low-to-mid-20% tax rate and full-year cash conversion of 100% for the full year.

LECO Stock’s Price PerformanceLincoln Electric’s shares have gained 14.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s 12.3% growth.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Lincoln Electric’s Zacks RankLECO currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Quarterly Performances of Other Manufacturing StocksStanley Black & Decker, Inc. (SWK - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of $1.57 per share for the second quarter of 2026, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.20 by 30.8%. The bottom line increased from adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share reported in the year-ago quarter.

Stanley Black & Decker’s net sales of $3.96 billion surpassed the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion by 0.7% and increased 0.4% year over year. Higher organic sales, improved gross margins and strong cash generation supported the quarter. Stanley Black & Decker’s also raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $5.20-$5.80 per share, up from the earlier outlook of $4.90-$5.70.

Enerpac (EPAC - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of 60 cents per share in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended May 31, 2026), beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 49 cents per share. This compares with earnings of 51 cents per share a year ago.

Enerpac posted revenues of $167.6 million for the quarter, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $165 million. This marks a 6% increase from year-ago revenues of $158.7 million. Enerpac updated its earnings per share projection for fiscal 2026 to $1.84-$1.89 from the prior stated $1.85-$1.92.

Dover Corporation (DOV - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.74 per share, up 12% year over year and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.72. The improvement reflected broad-based revenue growth, stronger segmental margins and operational execution that more than offset input-cost inflation.

Dover’s revenues rose 7% year over year to $2.19 billion but missed the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Organic revenues increased 4.8% in the quarter.