Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Raised to “Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $364.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $295.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $336.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $313.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $314.09 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.30. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $318.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,981 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,355,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,625,000. FORA Capital LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 33,823 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 140.1% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 39,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,488,000 after purchasing an additional 22,850 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.