Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Overweight Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $325.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $270.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, December 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $282.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $299.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $287.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.08 billion, a PE ratio of -190.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $273.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.21. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $229.11 and a one year high of $301.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 15.77% and a negative net margin of 2.73%.The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.850-13.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently -474.17%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total value of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 93,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,573,350.79. This represents a 42.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,304,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,509,702,000 after buying an additional 303,944 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,792,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,160,023,000 after buying an additional 3,922,567 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,904,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,940,665,000 after acquiring an additional 137,595 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,911,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,448,340,000 after acquiring an additional 352,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,236,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,281,627,000 after acquiring an additional 231,718 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 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.