Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Short Interest Down 19.2% in October

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, a drop of 19.2% from the October 15th total of 4,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APD. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $15,825,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 140.1% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 39,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,488,000 after purchasing an additional 22,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 146,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,430,000 after purchasing an additional 36,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD traded up $1.22 on Friday, reaching $317.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,113,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,434,932. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $332.42. The stock has a market cap of $70.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $305.56 and its 200 day moving average is $279.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APD. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $329.76.

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.