Lineage, Inc. (NASDAQ:LINE) Receives Consensus Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Consensus rating "Reduce": Twenty analysts cover Lineage with an average recommendation of "Reduce" (5 sell, 11 hold, 4 buy) and an average 1-year target price of $43.06 versus the recent stock price around $36.50.
• Big earnings miss but high dividend: Lineage reported $0.03 EPS vs. $0.73 expected (missing by $0.70), has negative net margin and a negative P/E (-84.88), yet recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5325 (annualized $2.13) for a ~5.8% yield and a DPR of -495%.
• Management buying, heavy insider ownership: Chairman Kevin P. Marchetti bought 13,300 shares at $37.50 in March and insiders collectively own about 71.9% of the stock.

Shares of Lineage, Inc. (NASDAQ:LINE - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.0556.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lineage from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Lineage from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Compass Point assumed coverage on Lineage in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Lineage in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Lineage from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th.

Lineage Stock Performance

Shares of LINE stock opened at $36.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.88 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $36.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.44. Lineage has a one year low of $31.33 and a one year high of $48.72.

Lineage (NASDAQ:LINE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.70). Lineage had a negative net margin of 1.87% and a negative return on equity of 1.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lineage will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Lineage Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.5325 per share. This is a boost from Lineage's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Lineage's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -495.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lineage news, Chairman Kevin Patrick Marchetti purchased 13,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.50 per share, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman directly owned 113,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,263,375. The trade was a 13.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 71.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LINE. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lineage by 172.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Lineage by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 665 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lineage by 575.2% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 736 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lineage in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Lineage by 106.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 940 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter.

About Lineage

Lineage Logistics, Inc NASDAQ: LINE is a leading provider of temperature-controlled industrial real estate and supply chain solutions. The company specializes in refrigerated and frozen storage, transportation, and ancillary services designed to support the global perishable goods industry. From food manufacturers and distributors to retailers and foodservice operators, Lineage offers tailored temperature management solutions that help clients optimize inventory turnover, reduce waste, and maintain product quality throughout the cold chain.

Lineage's core services include ambient, refrigerated and frozen warehousing, cross-docking, transloading, and dedicated transportation.

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