Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $307.00 to $345.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Air Products and Chemicals traded as high as $324.52 and last traded at $320.64, with a volume of 91475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.34.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on APD. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Vertical Research raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.24.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Magnus Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at about $200,000. First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.2% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 4,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,256,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 71,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,200,000 after buying an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $286.51 and its 200-day moving average is $267.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $71.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. On average, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

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.