Stock Watch: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

(NYSE:APD) implies that investors are highly hopeful for the organization to create more value from the given set of assets. (APD) experienced unusually high volume on February 02, as the stock lost 0.7% to a closing price of $130.34. Approximately 1,862,339 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 1,941,554 shares. For instance, the stock trades at a forward P/E multiple of 16.18, which is slightly above the ratio of 15.89 for the S&P 500 Index. The 52-week high of the shares is $158.2 while the 52-week low is $114.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $124.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.52. (NYSE:APD) is expected to report earnings per share for the current fiscal quarter of $1.81. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the analyst consensus estimate by $ 0.07. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 30th.

Several Insider Transactions has been reported to the SEC. On Feb 1, 2016, Seifi Ghasemi (CEO) purchased 50,000 shares at $126.77 per share price. As of now, the target price for the company is measuring at 149. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Other brokerage firms have also advised their investors on the company shares. This was higher than $335.1 million, or $1.55 per share, in last year’s first quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its stake in Air Products & Chemicals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 5,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services boosted its stake in Air Products & Chemicals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners now owns 828,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,763,000 after buying an additional 35,378 shares during the last quarter. In September 2012, it acquired an air separation unit (ASU) and integrated gases liquefier in Guiyang, China from Guizhou Kaiyang Chemical Co., Ltd.

A number of research firms recently commented on APD.

09/17/2015 – Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. had its “hold” rating reiterated by analysts at William Blair. Bank of America started coverage on Air Products & Chemicals in a research report on Friday, January 22nd. The estimated price target of the stock is set in between 125 and $175 respectively.

Brokerage firm Deutsche Bank Maintains its rating on Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.(NYSE:APD). Despite the substantial decrease in the top-line figure, Air Products & Chemicals Inc.

Let’s kick off our investigation with Air Products & Chemicals Inc. The projections as given by First Call and the estimates of Zacks may vary as they survey different group of brokers. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Air Products & Chemicals now has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $150.14. Air Products is now carrying out its second cost saving plan worth $300 million, through facility productivity. (Air Products) serves energy, electronics, chemicals, steel, and manufacturing customers with a portfolio of products, services, and solutions that include atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, equipment, and services. It operates through Industrial Gases Â- Americas, Industrial Gases Â- Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Industrial Gases Â- Asia, Industrial Gases Â- Global, Materials Technologies, and Energy-from-Waste segments.