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

Key Points

• Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 17 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $323.12.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $3.20 versus estimates of $3.06 and revenue of $3.17 billion, up 8.8% year over year.
• Air Products declared a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.5%; the company also reported an insider sale by CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer.

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

A number of brokerages recently commented on APD. UBS Group increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $285.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12-month low of $229.11 and a 12-month high of $307.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $294.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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 forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APD. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 197.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 281,861 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $79,498,000 after purchasing an additional 187,142 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 52.5% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,474 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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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