Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Cut to “Market Perform” at BMO Capital Markets

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was downgraded by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock traded down $14.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $313.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 852,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,800,525. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.85. The company has a market capitalization of $69.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $213.80 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.64% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $885,371,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,734,000 after buying an additional 30,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after buying an additional 33,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.