Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $545.07.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Linde from $600.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp began coverage on Linde in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $542.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $563.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Linde from $576.00 to $553.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $469.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $216.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $483.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $498.62. Linde has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $548.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 20.43%.The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.09 earnings per share. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Linde will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 41.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,344,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,558,016,000 after acquiring an additional 719,052 shares during the period. Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 196.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 92 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,843 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Linde by 76.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Planning Project LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the second quarter valued at about $6,711,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 across a range of industries. Its products include oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, specialty gases and medical gases.

The company serves customers in sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, food and beverage, electronics, chemicals, energy and metals. Linde also designs and builds industrial gas plants and provides engineering, project management and process technology services for industrial and energy applications.

Linde traces its history to 1879 and was formed in its current structure through the 2018 merger of Linde AG and Praxair, Inc The company operates internationally, serving customers in numerous countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia and other regions.