JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) to “Overweight”

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $310.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on APD. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $270.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $284.72 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52 week low of $229.11 and a 52 week high of $301.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $63.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -188.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $275.50 and a 200-day moving average of $265.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.12. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 2.73% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total transaction of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,063,906,000. Capital International Investors grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,922,567 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter worth about $607,601,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,694,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $665,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 644.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,031,306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $281,258,000 after purchasing an additional 892,793 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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.