Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $323.1176.

A number of equities analysts have commented on APD shares. Mizuho set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth about $245,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 197.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 281,861 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,498,000 after acquiring an additional 187,142 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 52.5% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.1%

APD stock opened at $277.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $289.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.05. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $229.11 and a one year high of $307.96. The stock has a market cap of $61.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.250-3.350 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 13.23 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.61%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global supplier of industrial gases and related equipment and services, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company produces and delivers atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as specialty and process gases used across a wide range of industrial applications. Air Products designs, builds and operates gas production facilities, merchant distribution networks and on-site gas systems for customers that require reliable, high-purity gases and integrated supply solutions.

The company’s product and service portfolio includes packaged and bulk gas supply, pipeline distribution, on-site generation, gas handling and storage equipment, and engineered systems for gas liquefaction and purification.