Linde (LIN) Competitors

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) and Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) are related large-cap companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of LIN or AMP?

82.8% of Linde shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.0% of Ameriprise Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Linde shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Ameriprise Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better earnings & valuation, LIN or AMP?

Linde has higher revenue and earnings than Ameriprise Financial. Ameriprise Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Linde, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Linde	$33.01B	6.83	$6.57B	$14.06	34.19
Ameriprise Financial	$17.26B	2.76	$3.40B	$32.14	15.70

Is LIN or AMP more profitable?

Linde has a net margin of 20.20% compared to Ameriprise Financial's net margin of 18.30%. Ameriprise Financial's return on equity of 65.90% beat Linde's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Linde	20.20%	19.09%	9.19%
Ameriprise Financial	18.30%	65.90%	2.02%

Does the media refer more to LIN or AMP?

In the previous week, Linde had 2 more articles in the media than Ameriprise Financial. MarketBeat recorded 45 mentions for Linde and 43 mentions for Ameriprise Financial. Linde's average media sentiment score of 1.58 beat Ameriprise Financial's score of 1.48 indicating that Linde is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Linde	43 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Ameriprise Financial	37 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer LIN or AMP?

Linde presently has a consensus price target of $519.63, indicating a potential upside of 8.10%. Ameriprise Financial has a consensus price target of $534.71, indicating a potential upside of 5.94%. Given Linde's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Linde is more favorable than Ameriprise Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Linde	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Ameriprise Financial	2 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13

Which has more volatility and risk, LIN or AMP?

Linde has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameriprise Financial has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is LIN or AMP a better dividend stock?

Linde pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ameriprise Financial pays an annual dividend of $6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde pays out 42.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameriprise Financial pays out 19.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Linde has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Ameriprise Financial has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years. Ameriprise Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Linde beats Ameriprise Financial on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.