Critical Survey: Linde (LIN) versus Its Rivals

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.8% of Linde shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Linde shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Linde	$36.24 billion	$6.90 billion	34.67
Linde Competitors	$6.41 billion	$230.87 million	9.87

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

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 104.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Linde has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Linde and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Linde	0	2	21	1	2.96
Linde Competitors	3259	12228	14147	520	2.40

Linde presently has a consensus target price of $553.05, suggesting a potential upside of 5.99%. As a group, “Chemicals” companies have a potential upside of 7.46%. Given Linde’s rivals higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Linde has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares Linde and its rivals’ 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	-59.13%	-0.46%	-1.40%

Summary

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

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium and specialty gases. The company also designs and builds equipment and facilities used to produce and process gases. Linde serves customers across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics and energy. Its operations span the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.