Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Upgraded to Buy by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $364.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $295.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Vertical Research raised Air Products and Chemicals from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $336.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $313.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $314.67 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.65. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $323.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APD. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737,260 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after acquiring an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,173,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.