Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $331.53.

Several analysts have issued reports on APD shares. Vertical Research upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 2.7 %

APD stock opened at $292.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $337.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $309.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.76. The company has a market cap of $65.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.21%.

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.