Lincoln Electric (LECO) Surges 5.4%: Is This an Indication of Further Gains?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) shares rallied 5.4% in the last trading session to close at $285.82. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 7.8% gain over the past four weeks.

Lincoln Electric shares gained as a Roth MKM analyst reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raised the price target to $297.00 from $285.00. Another analyst at Barclays maintained a Buy rating on Lincoln Electric Holdings, with a price target of $280.00. 

This manufacturer of specialized welding products and other equipment is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.52 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -2%. Revenues are expected to be $1.08 billion, up 6.1% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For Lincoln Electric, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.6% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on LECO going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Lincoln Electric belongs to the Zacks Manufacturing - Tools & Related Products industry. Another stock from the same industry, Enerpac (EPAC), closed the last trading session 0.6% lower at $41.48. Over the past month, EPAC has returned 3.9%.

Enerpac's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed +3.4% over the past month to $0.4. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +2.6%. Enerpac currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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