Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Price Target to $320.00

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $345.00 to $320.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.22% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on APD. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $263.99 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $286.60 and its 200-day moving average is $287.64. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52-week low of $251.63 and a 52-week high of $328.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $58.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.86.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.04. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 17.02%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Seifi Ghasemi bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $252.34 per share, with a total value of $2,523,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 659,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $166,461,884.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APD. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 90,916.9% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 24,671,052 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,389,720,000 after buying an additional 24,643,946 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $962,356,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 111,211.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,640,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,771,000 after buying an additional 1,639,255 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,668,923,000 after buying an additional 1,115,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 240.0% during the first quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,284,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $369,009,000 after buying an additional 906,916 shares during the last quarter. 82.62% of the stock is 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; 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.