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

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $323.1176.

Several brokerages have recently commented on APD. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 92 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3,233.3% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $280.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $291.38 and its 200-day moving average is $277.16. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1 year low of $229.11 and a 1 year high of $307.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The business’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. 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 research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio 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.