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

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $340.00 to $350.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Air Products and Chemicals traded as high as $332.43 and last traded at $330.94, with a volume of 145632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.10.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APD. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after buying an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after buying an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after acquiring an additional 33,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,140 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $291.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Research analysts anticipate 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.