Analyst initiations: LECO, PSEC and GMXR

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Lincoln Electric, Prospect Capital and GMX Resources were today's noteworthy initiations:

Piper believes Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ: LECO) is positioned to capitalize on global infrastructure spending as a leading manufacturer of welding/metal fabrication equipment and materials. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $100 target.
Wachovia said Prospect Capital (NASDAQ: PSEC) has good visibility on portfolio growth and sees significant value in the potential sale of the company Gas Solutions business. The firm assumed shares with an Outperform rating.
Collins Stewart initiated GMX Resources (NASDAQ: GMXR) with a Buy rating and $67 target. The firm believes the company's drilling program will continue to drive both strong production and proved reserves growth.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

Louisiana Pacific (NYSE: LPX) was initiated at RBC Capital with an Underperform rating and $10 target.
The firm also started Mercer International (NASDAQ: MERC) with an Outperform rating and $11 target.
Keefe Bruyette initiated SWS Group (NYSE: SWS) with a Market Perform rating.

Tags: analyst, gmxr, initiation, leco, lpx, merc, psec, sws