Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Short Interest Update

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,380,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the November 15th total of 3,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.53.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.8% in the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,514 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 2,995 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 286.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,342,000 after acquiring an additional 15,791 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,205.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,440,000 after acquiring an additional 35,479 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 35.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,930 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $304.70 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $337.00. The firm has a market cap of $67.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $320.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.