Lincoln Electric (LECO) Competitors

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) and A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) are both large-cap industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Does the media prefer LECO or AOS?

In the previous week, Lincoln Electric had 3 more articles in the media than A. O. Smith. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Lincoln Electric and 9 mentions for A. O. Smith. Lincoln Electric's average media sentiment score of 1.16 beat A. O. Smith's score of 1.13 indicating that Lincoln Electric is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lincoln Electric	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
A. O. Smith	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend LECO or AOS?

Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus price target of $228.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.45%. A. O. Smith has a consensus price target of $90.67, indicating a potential upside of 5.82%. Given A. O. Smith's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe A. O. Smith is more favorable than Lincoln Electric.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lincoln Electric	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
A. O. Smith	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14

Is LECO or AOS a better dividend stock?

Lincoln Electric pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. A. O. Smith pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Lincoln Electric pays out 30.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. A. O. Smith pays out 33.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, LECO or AOS?

A. O. Smith has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Lincoln Electric. A. O. Smith is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lincoln Electric, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lincoln Electric	$4.19B	3.08	$545.25M	$9.42	24.09
A. O. Smith	$3.85B	3.26	$556.60M	$3.86	22.20

Does the MarketBeat Community favor LECO or AOS?

A. O. Smith received 21 more outperform votes than Lincoln Electric when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 62.28% of users gave A. O. Smith an outperform vote while only 59.51% of users gave Lincoln Electric an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Lincoln Electric	Outperform Votes 438 59.51%	Underperform Votes 298 40.49%
A. O. Smith	Outperform Votes 459 62.28%	Underperform Votes 278 37.72%

Which has more risk and volatility, LECO or AOS?

Lincoln Electric has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, A. O. Smith has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in LECO or AOS?

79.6% of Lincoln Electric shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.6% of Lincoln Electric shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is LECO or AOS more profitable?

A. O. Smith has a net margin of 14.94% compared to Lincoln Electric's net margin of 13.23%. Lincoln Electric's return on equity of 43.81% beat A. O. Smith's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lincoln Electric	13.23%	43.81%	16.50%
A. O. Smith	14.94%	30.94%	18.06%

Summary

Lincoln Electric and A. O. Smith tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.