Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $307.00 to $345.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Air Products and Chemicals traded as high as $324.52 and last traded at $320.64, with a volume of 91475 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $320.34.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on APD. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Vertical Research raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.24.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APD. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter worth $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,250.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,700.0% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 104.3% in the 1st quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.44. The stock has a market cap of $72.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.