Seaport Res Ptn Has Negative Estimate for Linde Q1 Earnings

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Linde in a report issued on Wednesday, May 14th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will earn $4.24 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $4.33. The consensus estimate for Linde’s current full-year earnings is $16.54 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Linde’s Q2 2026 earnings at $4.46 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $4.61 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LIN. Argus upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.11.

Linde Stock Up 0.8%

Linde stock opened at $457.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $215.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $451.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $447.60.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Linde

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

About Linde

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene.