Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Short Interest Down 5.4% in October

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, a decrease of 5.4% from the October 15th total of 1,660,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 800,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $320.31.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, CEO Seifi Ghasemi purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $252.34 per share, with a total value of $2,523,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 659,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,461,884.82. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 5,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 51.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 100,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,502,000 after buying an additional 34,349 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth about $315,000. First Foundation Advisors raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.4% in the third quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 2,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 11.6% in the third quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.62% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $273.60 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $284.03 and its 200 day moving average is $286.88. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12-month low of $251.63 and a 12-month high of $328.56. The stock has a market cap of $60.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 17.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 29th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.83%.

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; specialty gases; and equipment for the production or processing of gases comprising air separation units and non-cryogenic generators for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, magnetic resonance imaging, energy production, medical, food, and metals.