Zacks Research Comments on Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.’s Q3 2023 Earnings (NYSE:APD)

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) – Zacks Research raised their Q3 2023 earnings per share estimates for Air Products and Chemicals in a report released on Tuesday, May 23rd. Zacks Research analyst A. Barman now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings of $2.90 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.87. The consensus estimate for Air Products and Chemicals’ current full-year earnings is $11.39 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Air Products and Chemicals’ FY2023 earnings at $11.38 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.39 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $13.52 EPS.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share.

APD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $339.00 to $329.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Vertical Research raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.83.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $272.12 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12-month low of $218.88 and a 12-month high of $328.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 3rd will be given a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 71.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empower Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth about $73,764,000. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 94.3% in the first quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 6,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,790,000 after buying an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 532.2% in the first quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% in the first quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 17,279 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,963,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth about $384,000. 82.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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Air Products & Chemicals, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of atmospheric gases. It operates through the following segments: Industrial Gases-Americas, Industrial Gases-EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), Industrial Gases-Asia, Industrial Gases-Global, and Corporate & Other. The Industrial Gases-America, EMEA, and Asia segment markets and produces atmospheric gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases, process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, syngas, and specialty gases and equipment for the production and processing of gases, such as air separation units and non-cryogenic generators.