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

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $336.5294.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APD. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Argus boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $316.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.7%

APD stock opened at $291.70 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.81. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52 week low of $229.11 and a 52 week high of $314.87. The company has a market capitalization of $64.96 billion, a PE ratio of -1,325.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 16.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.09 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.390-13.490 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.550-3.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 13.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is -3,290.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 27,786.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 72,163,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,156,930,000 after purchasing an additional 71,904,837 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,370,093,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake 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 valued at $3,160,023,000 after acquiring an additional 3,922,567 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,904,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,940,665,000 after acquiring an additional 137,595 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,911,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,448,340,000 after acquiring an additional 352,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global industrial gases and chemicals company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1940, the company supplies atmospheric and process gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon monoxide and syngas, along with related equipment and technical services.

Air Products serves customers in industries such as refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, food and beverage, healthcare and energy. Its offerings support applications including combustion, metal fabrication, semiconductor production, food preservation, medical care and industrial processing.