Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Raised to “Overweight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $350.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $330.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 15.94% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $301.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $309.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.04. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $337.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $790,371,000 after purchasing an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the second 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 buying an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after buying an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.