Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $340.88.

A number of research firms recently commented on APD. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $1.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $295.05. 751,328 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,481,873. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $310.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.48. The stock has a market cap of $65.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12-month low of $227.53 and a 12-month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. As a group, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

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.