Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on APD. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE APD traded up $4.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $291.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,539,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,917. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $274.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.12. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $296.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $64.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Security National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 700.0% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.