Keybanc Initiates Coverage of Linde at Overweight
Fintel reports that on September 11, 2026, Keybanc initiated coverage of Linde (NASDAQGS:LIN) with a Overweight recommendation. Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company with its headquarters based in Guildford, Surrey, England. As a leader in the production of industrial gases, Linde operates in multiple segments, including healthcare, petroleum refining, manufacturing, and food processing. The company's primary products encompass oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and hydrogen, essential for various industrial operations.
Prior to this rating action, Linde's stock closed at $461.62 on September 10, 2026. This close represents a price change of -4.27% over one week, compared to a baseline close of $482.19 on September 3, 2026. Over a one-month period, the stock experienced a price change of -6.26% from a baseline close of $492.46 on August 10, 2026.
Separately, the current consensus target mean for Linde was $556.36 as of August 28, 2026, with a median target of $561.00. This mean target represents an implied change of +20.52% from the stock's valuation at that time. The prior consensus target mean was $556.70 as of August 4, 2026, representing a consensus target revision of -0.06%.
In terms of aggregate analyst recommendations, the current recommendation period as of September 1, 2026, shows a total of 31 recommendations: 5 strong buy, 17 buy, 7 hold, and 2 sell. This represents 71.0% positive, 22.6% hold, and 6.5% negative recommendations. In the prior period as of August 1, 2026, there were 30 total recommendations, consisting of 5 strong buy, 17 buy, 6 hold, and 2 sell, representing 73.3% positive, 20.0% hold, and 6.7% negative recommendations.
Linde reported its latest earnings on July 31, 2026. The actual earnings per share (EPS) was 4.5, compared to an estimate of 4.5288, representing an EPS surprise of -0.64%. The actual revenue was $9,289,000,000,000,000.00, while the estimated revenue was $9,078,391,999,000,000.00. According to the company's EX-99.1 filing dated July 31, 2026, titled "Linde Reports Second-Quarter 2026 Results," the company reported second-quarter sales of $9.3 billion, which was up 9% year-over-year, with underlying sales up 4%. The filing also noted an operating profit of $2.6 billion, an adjusted operating profit of $2.7 billion (up 7%), an operating profit margin of 27.5%, and an adjusted operating profit margin of 29.5%. Diluted earnings per share were reported at $4.15, up 11%, while adjusted EPS was $4.50, up 10% year-over-year. Additionally, the company reported second-quarter operating cash flow of $2.3 billion, up 3% year-over-year, a project backlog of $11 billion, and full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $17.70 - $17.90, representing 8% to 9% growth. The filing also stated that Linde reported second-quarter 2026 net income of $1,928 million and diluted earnings per share of $4.15, up 9% and up 11%, respectively, and that excluding Linde AG purchase accounting impacts, adjusted net income was $2,089 million.
Recent analyst actions
| Date | Analyst | Prior | Latest recommendation | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11, 2026 | Keybanc | Overweight | initiated coverage |
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This story originally appeared on Fintel.