Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Has Average Target Price of $547.29

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish on Linde: Twenty of 24 covering firms rate the stock “Buy,” with an average 12-month price target of $547.29 versus its $492.70 opening price.
• Linde exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.50 EPS and $9.29 billion in revenue, up 9.3% year over year. Analysts expect approximately $17.86 in EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, equivalent to a $6.40 annualized payout and a 1.3% yield; institutional investors own 82.8% of Linde’s stock.

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty-four ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $547.29.

A number of analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Linde from $535.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Linde from $576.00 to $553.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays began coverage on Linde in a research report on Monday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $577.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th.

Linde Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $492.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $227.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.71. Linde has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $548.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $478.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $498.13.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $9.02 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 20.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.09 EPS. 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, equities analysts expect that Linde will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors 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 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.34%.

Institutional Trading of Linde

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Financial Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter valued at about $4,034,000. Hikari Power Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth about $20,965,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 271.8% during the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 8,462 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,186 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth about $2,931,000. Finally, S&CO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the second quarter worth about $13,564,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

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 in healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, food and beverage, electronics, and other industries. Its products include oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases.

The company provides gases through on-site production facilities, pipelines, bulk deliveries and packaged cylinders. It also designs and builds industrial gas plants and offers technologies and services for applications such as hydrogen production, carbon capture, clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing, metal fabrication and medical care.

Linde traces its history to 1879, when German engineer Carl von Linde developed refrigeration and gas-related technologies.

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