Barclays Upgrades Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) to Overweight

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $365.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $315.00. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.84% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on APD. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Vertical Research raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $330.00 to $350.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $335.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $329.29 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.47. The company has a market capitalization of $73.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $337.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position 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 worth $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after acquiring an additional 33,313 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $499,735,000 after acquiring an additional 389,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after acquiring an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.