Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Releases Q1 Earnings Guidance

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.86 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.85.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 2.0 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $6.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $307.83. 1,949,234 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,613,613. Air Products and Chemicals has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $337.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $309.32 and a 200-day moving average of $293.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $68.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on APD. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup raised 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 report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.71.

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.