Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD – Get Free Report)’s share price was down 4.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $251.90 and last traded at $251.90. Approximately 1,361,987 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 1,730,060 shares. The stock had previously closed at $262.91.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
APD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.29.
Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 5.5 %
The business’s fifty day moving average price is $264.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.81.
Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.90%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $852,288,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,099,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $508,626,000 after acquiring an additional 167,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,029,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $491,730,000 after acquiring an additional 64,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after acquiring an additional 520,179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.
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.