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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on APD. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $234.37 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $236.12 and a 200-day moving average of $256.79. The company has a market capitalization of $52.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 67.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.4% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 938 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,673,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.5% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.6% in the third quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,808 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,940,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.