Air Products and Chemicals (APD) Competitors

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) and Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, community ranking and institutional ownership.

Which has more volatility and risk, APD or LIN?

Air Products and Chemicals has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Linde has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer APD or LIN?

In the previous week, Air Products and Chemicals had 2 more articles in the media than Linde. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Air Products and Chemicals and 32 mentions for Linde. Linde's average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat Air Products and Chemicals' score of 1.41 indicating that Linde is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Air Products and Chemicals	26 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Linde	28 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is APD or LIN more profitable?

Air Products and Chemicals has a net margin of 31.88% compared to Linde's net margin of 19.89%. Linde's return on equity of 18.71% beat Air Products and Chemicals' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Air Products and Chemicals	31.88%	15.78%	7.29%
Linde	19.89%	18.71%	9.25%

Do analysts prefer APD or LIN?

Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus target price of $332.18, suggesting a potential upside of 24.82%. Linde has a consensus target price of $498.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.11%. Given Air Products and Chemicals' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Air Products and Chemicals is more favorable than Linde.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Air Products and Chemicals	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Linde	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.92

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in APD or LIN?

81.7% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Linde shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Linde shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in APD or LIN?

Air Products and Chemicals received 295 more outperform votes than Linde when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.62% of users gave Air Products and Chemicals an outperform vote while only 63.88% of users gave Linde an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Air Products and Chemicals	Outperform Votes 654 64.62%	Underperform Votes 358 35.38%
Linde	Outperform Votes 359 63.88%	Underperform Votes 203 36.12%

Is APD or LIN a better dividend stock?

Air Products and Chemicals pays an annual dividend of $7.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Linde pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Air Products and Chemicals pays out 41.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Linde pays out 44.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Air Products and Chemicals has increased its dividend for 50 consecutive years. Air Products and Chemicals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better earnings & valuation, APD or LIN?

Linde has higher revenue and earnings than Air Products and Chemicals. Air Products and Chemicals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Linde, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Air Products and Chemicals	$12.03B	4.92	$3.83B	$17.22	15.45
Linde	$33.01B	6.48	$6.57B	$13.61	33.23

Summary

Linde beats Air Products and Chemicals on 12 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.