Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Raised to Overweight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $365.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $315.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD opened at $329.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $337.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $309.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.96.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,312,000 after acquiring an additional 33,313 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $499,735,000 after acquiring an additional 389,380 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after acquiring an additional 70,759 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.