Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Upgraded at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on APD. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $315.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.65. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1-year low of $216.30 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The stock has a market cap of $70.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. As a group, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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.