Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Receives Neutral Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $320.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $345.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 2.53% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.11.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $328.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $213.07 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $310.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.66. The firm has a market cap of $73.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 31.64%. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $885,371,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,717,000 after acquiring an additional 723,019 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,473,000 after acquiring an additional 722,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.