Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BNP Paribas

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by research analysts at BNP Paribas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $310.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1-year low of $216.30 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.65.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APD. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 71,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,200,000 after buying an additional 2,131 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, Carderock Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.5% during the third quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is 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.