Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $295.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Air Products and Chemicals traded as low as $251.63 and last traded at $254.51, with a volume of 523372 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $254.46.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on APD. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Seifi Ghasemi bought 10,000 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $252.34 per share, with a total value of $2,523,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 659,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,461,884.82. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Herold Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 120.9% in the 3rd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 5,047 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the period. BCGM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Wade G W & Inc. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $441,000. Institutional investors own 82.62% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $57.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $287.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.80.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.88% and a return on equity of 17.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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; specialty gases; and equipment for the production or processing of gases comprising air separation units and non-cryogenic generators for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, magnetic resonance imaging, energy production, medical, food, and metals.