Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Receives $330.38 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $330.38.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,191,344,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $919,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after buying an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $885,371,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,583,417,000 after buying an additional 2,096,568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $275.79 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.