Analyzing Linde (LIN) and The Competition

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) is one of 295 public companies in the “Chemicals” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Linde to similar businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends and risk.

Dividends

Linde pays an annual dividend of $6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde pays out 42.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Chemicals” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.1% and pay out 102.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Linde has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Linde and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Linde	$33.99 billion	$6.90 billion	34.54
Linde Competitors	$8.01 billion	$222.31 million	-0.93

Linde has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Linde is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Linde has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Linde’s competitors have a beta of 0.93, meaning that their average stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Linde and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Linde	19.34%	20.32%	9.38%
Linde Competitors	-59.66%	0.26%	-1.43%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Linde and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Linde	0	2	21	1	2.96
Linde Competitors	3245	12202	14121	516	2.40

Linde presently has a consensus price target of $553.05, suggesting a potential upside of 6.38%. As a group, “Chemicals” companies have a potential upside of 9.15%. Given Linde’s competitors higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Linde has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.8% of Linde shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.5% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Linde shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Linde beats its competitors on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The company also designs and constructs turnkey process plants for third-party customers, as well as for the gas businesses in various locations, such as air separation, hydrogen, synthesis, olefin, and natural gas plants. It serves a range of industries, including healthcare, chemicals and energy, manufacturing, metals and mining, food and beverage, and electronics. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Woking, the United Kingdom.