Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Linde has a consensus “Buy” rating from 14 brokerages: 11 rate it a buy, two a strong buy and one a hold. The average 12-month price target is $545.07, above the reported share price of $460.40.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.8% of Linde’s shares, with several major firms—including Capital International Investors and Invesco—raising their holdings.
• Linde beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $4.50 in EPS and $9.29 billion in revenue. It also declared a $1.60 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a $6.40 annualized payout and a 1.4% yield.

Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $545.0714.

A number of research firms have weighed in on LIN. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $563.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Linde from $560.00 to $546.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $576.00 to $553.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $580.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, August 10th.

Institutional Trading of Linde

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LIN. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,353,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,820,533,000 after acquiring an additional 35,945 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Linde by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,127,594 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,318,325,000 after purchasing an additional 797,866 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $3,246,750,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,245,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,402,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,303,494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,751 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $460.40 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $488.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $499.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.72. Linde has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $548.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 20.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $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, equities analysts forecast that Linde will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 41.34%.

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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