Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $310.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $69.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $308.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $302.65. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $216.30 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.77 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 717,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $207,991,000 after acquiring an additional 8,908 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $513,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $20,636,000. First Western Trust Bank lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 6,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $419,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.