Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Receives $330.38 Average PT from Analysts

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $330.38.

APD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $270.03 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $273.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $298.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 104.07%.

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.