FY2027 EPS Estimates for Linde Increased by Erste Group Bank

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

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DZ Bank downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.20.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $491.12 on Friday. Linde has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $477.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.38. The firm has a market cap of $227.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 195.2% in the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 43.87%.

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.