Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Receives $340.50 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $339.94.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC now owns 34,934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,401,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 9.2% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,773,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 9,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 5.3 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $310.66 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $213.80 and a one year high of $341.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $309.83 and a 200 day moving average of $301.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.77 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.11%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.