Erste Group Bank Increases Earnings Estimates for Linde

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Linde in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $19.45 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $19.42. Erste Group Bank has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Linde’s current full-year earnings is $16.54 per share.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LIN. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $515.20.

Linde Stock Up 0.6%

Linde stock opened at $495.49 on Friday. Linde has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $510.65. The stock has a market cap of $229.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $476.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 43.87%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $95,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Linde by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 325,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $138,645,000 after purchasing an additional 59,154 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Linde by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $264,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Linde

Linde (NASDAQ: LIN) is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany’s Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde’s business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher‑value specialty and electronic gases.