Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD opened at $310.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $69.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $310.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $300.85. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1 year low of $213.80 and a 1 year 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.64% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,312,000 after buying an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.