Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $332.41.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $3.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $280.02. The company had a trading volume of 932,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,428,096. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.16. The company has a market cap of $62.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The company's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,191,344,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $919,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $885,371,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,583,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,568 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by 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.