Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Short Interest Up 5.8% in October

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,280,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the September 30th total of 4,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,440,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $473.40 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $226.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.94. Linde has a 12 month low of $376.70 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $473.15 and a 200-day moving average of $451.70.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.30 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Linde will post 15.52 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $484.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 133.3% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Company Profile

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.