Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Air Products and Chemicals currently carries an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 17 brokerages, with 10 buy ratings, 1 strong buy, and 6 holds. The average 1-year price target is about $323.12.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.20 versus estimates of $3.06 and revenue of $3.17 billion, up 8.8% year over year. It also issued FY 2026 guidance of $13.00 to $13.25 EPS.
• Air Products declared a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share, or $7.24 annualized, yielding about 2.6%. Meanwhile, institutional investors own a large majority of the stock, and CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer recently sold shares in a disclosed insider transaction.

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $323.1176.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Mizuho set a $345.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.1%

APD opened at $280.05 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average is $291.38 and its 200-day moving average is $277.16. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1-year low of $229.11 and a 1-year high of $307.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $62.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.250-3.350 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,063,906,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,792,580 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,160,023,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922,567 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $607,601,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,694,659 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $665,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,378 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 644.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,031,306 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $281,258,000 after purchasing an additional 892,793 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global supplier of industrial gases and related equipment and services, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company produces and delivers atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as specialty and process gases used across a wide range of industrial applications. Air Products designs, builds and operates gas production facilities, merchant distribution networks and on-site gas systems for customers that require reliable, high-purity gases and integrated supply solutions.

The company's product and service portfolio includes packaged and bulk gas supply, pipeline distribution, on-site generation, gas handling and storage equipment, and engineered systems for gas liquefaction and purification.

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