Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Vertical Research

Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Vertical Research currently has $336.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on APD. Barclays increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Bank of America upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $313.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $314.67 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $323.86. The company has a market cap of $69.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.65.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after buying an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth approximately $87,173,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.