FY2027 EPS Estimates for Linde Increased by Erste Group Bank

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) – Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank lifted their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Linde in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $19.48 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $19.45. 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.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.97 EPS. Linde’s revenue for the quarter 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.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on LIN. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.20.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $500.48 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $486.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $452.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Linde has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The firm has a market cap of $231.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,953,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,167,559,000 after purchasing an additional 354,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,176,828,000 after purchasing an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,353,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,820,533,000 after purchasing an additional 35,945 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Linde by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,127,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,318,325,000 after purchasing an additional 797,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Linde by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,784,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,171,959,000 after purchasing an additional 695,771 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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 given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 43.87%.

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.