Shares of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.00.
Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Praxair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $134.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Praxair from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Seaport Global Securities lowered Praxair from an “accumulate” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Praxair in a research note on Monday, February 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $107.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America Corp raised shares of Praxair from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 6th.
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Praxair by 16.5% in the first quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. now owns 847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. First Command Bank acquired a new position in shares of Praxair during the fourth quarter worth about $104,000. Cornerstone Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Praxair by 761.9% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. TLP Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Praxair during the third quarter worth about $131,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Praxair by 4.0% in the first quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 83.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Praxair (NYSE:PX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.41. Praxair had a return on equity of 28.75% and a net margin of 14.24%. The business earned $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Praxair will post $5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.
About Praxair
Praxair, Inc is an industrial gas company. The Company’s operations are organized into five segments, four of which have been determined on a geographic basis of segmentation: North America, Europe, South America and Asia. In addition, it operates its surface technologies business through its subsidiary, Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc, which represents the fifth segment.
