Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Stock Price

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Citigroup from $373.00 to $345.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.96% from the company’s previous close.

APD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $0.98 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $292.47. The stock had a trading volume of 120,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,535. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $313.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.84. The stock has a market cap of $65.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,914,000 after buying an additional 6,952 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,488,000 after purchasing an additional 139,223 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,269,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,205.1% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,440,000 after buying an additional 35,479 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.