JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) to Overweight

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $310.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $280.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.37% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $300.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $280.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $275.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.68. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52-week low of $229.11 and a 52-week high of $301.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -186.00, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 15.77% and a negative net margin of 2.73%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.86 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.850-13.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total transaction of $19,944,436.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 93,499 shares in the company, valued at $26,573,350.79. This represents a 42.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,304,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,509,702,000 after acquiring an additional 303,944 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,792,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,160,023,000 after acquiring an additional 3,922,567 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,904,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,940,665,000 after purchasing an additional 137,595 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,911,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,448,340,000 after purchasing an additional 352,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,236,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,281,627,000 after purchasing an additional 231,718 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global supplier of industrial gases and related equipment and services, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company produces and delivers atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as specialty and process gases used across a wide range of industrial applications. Air Products designs, builds and operates gas production facilities, merchant distribution networks and on-site gas systems for customers that require reliable, high-purity gases and integrated supply solutions.

The company’s product and service portfolio includes packaged and bulk gas supply, pipeline distribution, on-site generation, gas handling and storage equipment, and engineered systems for gas liquefaction and purification.