Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a bullish view on Linde: Thirteen brokerages give the stock an average “Buy” rating, with a consensus 12-month price target of approximately $545.38.
• Linde exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.50 in EPS versus the $4.49 consensus estimate and $9.29 billion in revenue, up 9.3% year over year. Management guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $17.70–$17.90.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, or $6.40 annualized, representing a 1.3% yield and a 41.34% payout ratio.

Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $545.3846.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group set a $612.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $559.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Linde from $600.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LIN. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Linde by 67,391.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 365,698,575 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $189,775,619,000 after purchasing an additional 365,156,729 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,246,750,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Linde by 42,539.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,321,809 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $56,361,000 after buying an additional 1,318,709 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Linde by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,245,255,000 after buying an additional 1,275,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Linde by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,941,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,680,710,000 after buying an additional 1,130,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $487.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $506.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $500.84. The stock has a market cap of $224.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.72. Linde has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 20.43%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company 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. On average, analysts expect that Linde will post 17.85 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.34%.

About Linde

Linde NASDAQ: LIN is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany's Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde's business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher‑value specialty and electronic gases.

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