Wells Fargo & Company Raises Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Price Target to $280.00

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $240.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 0.06% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on APD. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $257.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.43.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD traded down $7.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $280.17. 1,197,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,764,821. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.08. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $62.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. On average, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $852,288,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after acquiring an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at approximately $87,173,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 66.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 860,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $207,807,000 after purchasing an additional 342,322 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.