UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Stock

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $328.00 to $344.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.93% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on APD. Citigroup upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD opened at $294.20 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.47 billion, a PE ratio of 42.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $278.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.29.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.76%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,191,344,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $919,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after buying an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,583,417,000 after buying an additional 2,096,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $436,636,000. 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.