Linde (LIN) Competitors

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

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 1.2%. 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 raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Ameriprise Financial has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Which has more volatility & risk, LIN or AMP?

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

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, 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	6.86	$6.57B	$14.06	34.33
Ameriprise Financial	$17.26B	2.83	$3.40B	$32.14	16.14

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%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Ameriprise Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate LIN or AMP?

Linde currently has a consensus price target of $519.63, suggesting a potential upside of 7.65%. Ameriprise Financial has a consensus price target of $534.71, suggesting a potential upside of 3.05%. Given Linde's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research 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

Does the media favor LIN or AMP?

In the previous week, Ameriprise Financial had 4 more articles in the media than Linde. MarketBeat recorded 38 mentions for Ameriprise Financial and 34 mentions for Linde. Linde's average media sentiment score of 1.60 beat Ameriprise Financial's score of 1.55 indicating that Linde is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Linde	31 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	34 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Summary

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