Air Products and Chemicals (APD) Competitors

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) and Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and media sentiment.

Is LIN or APD more profitable?

Linde has a net margin of 20.20% compared to Air Products and Chemicals' net margin of 12.86%. Linde's return on equity of 19.09% beat Air Products and Chemicals' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Linde	20.20%	19.09%	9.19%
Air Products and Chemicals	12.86%	15.11%	6.79%

Does the media refer more to LIN or APD?

In the previous week, Linde had 6 more articles in the media than Air Products and Chemicals. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for Linde and 18 mentions for Air Products and Chemicals. Linde's average media sentiment score of 1.66 beat Air Products and Chemicals' score of 1.51 indicating that Linde is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Linde	24 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Air Products and Chemicals	16 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has better valuation & earnings, LIN or APD?

Linde has higher revenue and earnings than Air Products and Chemicals. Linde is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Air Products and Chemicals, 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	6.67	$6.57B	$14.06	33.39
Air Products and Chemicals	$12.10B	5.33	$3.83B	$6.95	41.68

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

82.8% of Linde shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.7% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Linde shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts prefer LIN or APD?

Linde currently has a consensus price target of $519.63, indicating a potential upside of 10.67%. Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus price target of $335.07, indicating a potential upside of 15.66%. Given Air Products and Chemicals' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Air Products and Chemicals is more favorable than Linde.

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
Air Products and Chemicals	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.69

Which has more volatility & risk, LIN or APD?

Linde has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air Products and Chemicals has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is LIN or APD a better dividend stock?

Linde pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Air Products and Chemicals pays an annual dividend of $7.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Linde pays out 42.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Air Products and Chemicals pays out 103.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Linde has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Air Products and Chemicals has increased its dividend for 50 consecutive years. Air Products and Chemicals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Linde beats Air Products and Chemicals on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.