Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Issues Earnings Results

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.12, reports. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $312.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $332.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $301.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.93. The firm has a market cap of $69.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Vertical Research upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 308,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,802,000 after buying an additional 3,901 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 39.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 6,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the third quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 37,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,134,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 110,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. 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.