Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $315.73 and last traded at $311.88, with a volume of 30,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $311.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. 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. Argus increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $316.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, October 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $353.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $360.00 to $346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $333.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.0%

The firm has a market cap of $69.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,419.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $293.93 and a 200-day moving average of $289.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.13. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 16.87% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be paid a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently -3,290.91%.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 277.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,161,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,597,451,000 after buying an additional 28,050,956 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,370,093,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,443,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,290,801,000 after purchasing an additional 556,188 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 326.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,348,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $927,010,000 after acquiring an additional 2,563,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aristotle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $779,665,000 after acquiring an additional 14,262 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global industrial gas and related equipment company serving customers in industries such as refining, chemicals, manufacturing, metals, electronics, food and beverage, healthcare, and energy. The company supplies atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, specialty gases and other industrial gases.

Air Products produces and distributes gases through pipelines, on-site facilities, bulk deliveries and packaged-gas systems.