Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on APD. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.1 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $295.74 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $65.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $275.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.50. Air Products and Chemicals has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $297.53.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,028,000 after acquiring an additional 14,981 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 351,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $96,242,000 after purchasing an additional 5,502 shares in the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $2,625,000. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 126,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,753,000 after buying an additional 9,663 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.