5 Best Dividend Aristocrat Stocks to Buy in 2026

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1. Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 89

On April 21, Bank of America raised its price recommendation on Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) to $525 from $520. It maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst said commodity markets moved sharply higher through March and into April, driven by the Iran conflict. That shift is expected to lift upstream forecasts for 2026 starting in Q2, while at the same time putting pressure on downstream producers, according to the firm’s preview of the US chemicals group.

Earlier, on April 13, Citigroup analyst Patrick Cunningham raised the firm’s price target on Linde to $580 from $545 and kept a Buy rating. The changes came as part of a Q1 preview for the specialty chemicals sector. The firm said it continues to favor industrial gas exposure, noting the group is “relatively insulated” from the current inflationary environment.

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is a United Kingdom-based global industrial gases and engineering company. It operates across the Americas, EMEA, APAC, and Engineering segments. Its primary products in its industrial gases business.

While we acknowledge the potential of LIN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LIN and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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