Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.77

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of 1.77 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, February 10th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%.

Air Products and Chemicals has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 49 years. Air Products and Chemicals has a dividend payout ratio of 54.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Air Products and Chemicals to earn $14.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.0%.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $331.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $332.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $310.63 and a 200-day moving average of $282.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.53.

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.