Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. Linde updated its FY 2025 guidance to 16.150-16.550 EPS and its Q1 2025 guidance to 3.850-3.950 EPS.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $1.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $454.78. 766,659 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,333,362. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $434.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $216.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.94. Linde has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% 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.