Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on APD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.4 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $4.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $291.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,539,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,917. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $64.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $274.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.12. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $296.00.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 700.0% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.