Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $323.00 to $350.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target indicates a potential upside of 10.38% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $329.76.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $317.10 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $304.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $279.11. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $332.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,720,704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,309,040 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,717,000 after acquiring an additional 723,019 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.