Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at KeyCorp

Key Points

• KeyCorp upgraded Linde to “strong-buy” and projected earnings per share of $17.85 for FY2026, $19.50 for FY2027 and $21.75 for FY2028.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and average price target of $545.14; two analysts rate the stock a Strong Buy and eleven rate it a Buy.
• Linde’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with EPS of $4.50 versus $4.49 expected and revenue of $9.29 billion, up 9.3% year over year. Shares opened at $461.62, down 1.1%.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at KeyCorp to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Linde's FY2026 earnings at $17.85 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $19.50 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $21.75 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on LIN. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Linde from $559.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Linde from $600.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Linde from $560.00 to $546.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.14.

Linde Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $461.62 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $497.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $501.41. The company has a market cap of $212.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Linde has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.02 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 20.09%. Linde's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.09 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Linde will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Linde

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 19.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 19.3% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 3.2% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,639,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related equipment and process technologies to customers across a range of industries. Its products include oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, specialty gases and medical gases.

The company serves customers in sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, food and beverage, electronics, chemicals, energy and metals. Linde also designs and builds industrial gas plants and provides engineering, project management and process technology services for industrial and energy applications.

Linde traces its history to 1879 and was formed in its current structure through the 2018 merger of Linde AG and Praxair, Inc The company operates internationally, serving customers in numerous countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia and other regions.

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