Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $312 to $335, while maintaining a neutral rating; the new target implies about 7.3% upside from the cited share price.
• Analyst views are mixed but lean positive: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $335.59.
• In its latest quarter, the company met EPS expectations at $3.61, while revenue of $3.56 billion topped estimates and rose 12.3% year over year.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $312.00 to $335.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Citigroup's target price suggests a potential upside of 7.31% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on APD. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $336.00 to $305.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Argus raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $316.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $353.00 to $346.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $335.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD traded up $7.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $312.18. The stock had a trading volume of 342,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,366. The company has a market cap of $69.52 billion, a PE ratio of 131.20, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $294.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $324.00.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.61. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 4.10%. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 92 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 77.6% during the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 103 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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