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

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

APD has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $272.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $256.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.80. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at $376,000. Eos Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 27,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,545,000 after buying an additional 5,727 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 65,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,177,000. Finally, Zenyatta Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Zenyatta Capital Management LP now owns 22,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 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.