Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $277.43.

APD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. TheStreet lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD opened at $248.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $55.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $238.93 and its 200-day moving average is $253.28.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after buying an additional 4,330,471 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,502,717,000 after acquiring an additional 235,037 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,085,399,000 after acquiring an additional 39,215 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $852,288,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,099,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $508,626,000 after acquiring an additional 167,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.