Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Rating Increased to Neutral at Redburn Atlantic

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by analysts at Redburn Atlantic from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $330.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. Redburn Atlantic’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.77% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on APD. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD opened at $318.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $294.60 and its 200-day moving average is $271.51. The stock has a market cap of $70.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $332.42.

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

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after acquiring an additional 122,676 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.