Sanford C. Bernstein Upgrades Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) to “Outperform”

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $375.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.91% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $350.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.50.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $335.10 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $310.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.46. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $337.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $74.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.84.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.