Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.79

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 1.79 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, May 12th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77.

Air Products and Chemicals has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 4.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 35 years. Air Products and Chemicals has a dividend payout ratio of 50.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Air Products and Chemicals to earn $14.04 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 50.4%.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD traded down $2.90 on Wednesday, hitting $316.87. 1,119,503 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,669,457. The firm has a market cap of $70.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $337.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on APD. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.71.

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.