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Linde (LIN) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Linde (LIN - Free Report) closed at $273.88 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.15% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.5% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.12%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.32%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the gas supplier had lost 16.53% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 20.85% and lagged the S&P 500's loss of 6.54% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Linde as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Linde is projected to report earnings of $2.99 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 10.74%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $8.39 billion, up 10.65% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $11.93 per share and revenue of $33.38 billion. These totals would mark changes of +11.6% and +8.41%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Linde should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.1% higher. Linde is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Investors should also note Linde's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 23. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.6, so we one might conclude that Linde is trading at a premium comparatively.

It is also worth noting that LIN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.3. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Oil and Gas - Field Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.38 at yesterday's closing price.

The Oil and Gas - Field Services industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 70, which puts it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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