Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.77 (NYSE:APD)

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 17th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of 1.77 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, August 12th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%.

Air Products and Chemicals has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 49 consecutive years. Air Products and Chemicals has a payout ratio of 52.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Air Products and Chemicals to earn $13.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.3%.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE APD traded up $5.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $262.70. 2,327,363 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,723,454. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $240.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $252.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The company has a market cap of $58.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.80.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut Air Products and Chemicals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "b" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $273.77.

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.