Linde logged a -2.3% change during today's afternoon session, and is now trading at a price of $370.08 per share.
Linde returned gains of 34.0% last year, with its stock price reaching a high of $393.67 and a low of $266.22. Over the same period, the stock outperformed the S&P 500 index by 19.0%. More recently, the company's 50-day average price was $381.53. Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Based in Woking, United Kingdom, the large-cap Industrials company has 66,270 full time employees. Linde has offered a 1.3% dividend yield over the last 12 months.
Shareholders Are Confronted With a Declining EPS Growth Trend:
| 2019-02-09 | 2020-03-02 | 2021-03-01 | 2022-02-28 | 2023-02-28 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (MM) | $14,836 | $28,228 | $27,243 | $30,793 | $33,364 |
| Gross Margins | 39.0% | 41.0% | 44.0% | 43.0% | 42.0% |
| Operating Margins | 15% | 12% | 12% | 16% | 16% |
| Net Margins | 30.0% | 8.0% | 9.0% | 12.0% | 12.0% |
| Net Income (MM) | $4,381 | $2,285 | $2,501 | $3,826 | $4,147 |
| Net Interest Expense (MM) | -$202 | -$38 | -$115 | -$77 | -$63 |
| Depreciation & Amort. (MM) | -$1,830 | -$4,675 | -$4,626 | -$4,635 | -$4,204 |
| Earnings Per Share | $13.11 | $4.19 | $4.71 | $7.36 | $7.95 |
| EPS Growth | n/a | -68.04% | 12.41% | 56.26% | 8.02% |
| Diluted Shares (MM) | 334 | 545 | 531 | 520 | 522 |
| Free Cash Flow (MM) | $5,537 | $9,801 | $10,829 | $12,811 | $12,037 |
| Capital Expenditures (MM) | -$1,883 | -$3,682 | -$3,400 | -$3,086 | -$3,173 |
| Net Current Assets (MM) | -$19,018 | -$24,625 | -$27,723 | -$26,005 | -$25,224 |
| Long Term Debt (MM) | $12,288 | $10,693 | $12,152 | $11,335 | $12,198 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 2.66 | 1.42 | 1.55 | 1.18 | 1.3 |
Linde has wider gross margins than its peer group, average operating margins with a stable trend, and healthy leverage. However, the firm has declining EPS growth. Finally, we note that Linde has weak revenue growth and a flat capital expenditure trend and irregular cash flows.
Linde's Valuation Is in Line With Its Sector Averages:
Linde has a trailing twelve month P/E ratio of 32.8, compared to an average of 20.49 for the Industrials sector. Based on its EPS guidance of $14.27, the company has a forward P/E ratio of 26.7. The company doesn't issue forward earnings guidance, and the compound average growth rate of its last 5 years of reported EPS is -2.4%. On this basis, the company's PEG ratio is -13.77, which indicates that its shares are overpriced. Furthermore, Linde is likely overvalued compared to the book value of its equity, since its P/B ratio of 4.52 is higher than the sector average of 3.78. The company's shares are currently trading 210.7% above their Graham number.
Analysts Give Linde an Average Rating of Buy:
The 26 analysts following Linde have set target prices ranging from $339.0 to $453.61 per share, for an average of $423.54 with a buy rating. As of April 2023, the company is trading -9.9% away from its average target price, indicating that there is an analyst consensus of some upside potential.
Linde has a very low short interest because 0.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Institutions own 86.5% of the company's shares, and the insider ownership rate stands at 0.19%, suggesting a small amount of insider investors. The largest shareholder is Vanguard Group Inc, whose 9% stake in the company is worth $16,266,835,543.
