Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on APD. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $277.43.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD opened at $250.63 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,894,973,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,502,717,000 after buying an additional 235,037 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,085,399,000 after buying an additional 39,215 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $852,288,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,099,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $508,626,000 after buying an additional 167,800 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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.