StockNews.com Upgrades Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on APD. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $258.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $259.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.83. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,502,717,000 after acquiring an additional 235,037 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $852,288,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,099,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $508,626,000 after acquiring an additional 167,800 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,029,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $491,730,000 after purchasing an additional 64,427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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.