Erste Group Bank Issues Positive Forecast for Linde Earnings

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2027 EPS estimates for shares of Linde in a research note issued to investors on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the basic materials company will earn $19.60 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $19.50. The consensus estimate for Linde’s current full-year earnings is $17.89 per share.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on LIN. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $559.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.67.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $511.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $236.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72. Linde has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $548.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $516.17 and a 200-day moving average of $495.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its position in shares of Linde by 96.6% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 1,450.0% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management increased its position in shares of Linde by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in Linde by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Linde Company Profile

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.