Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.79

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 18th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of 1.79 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, November 10th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%.

Air Products and Chemicals has a payout ratio of 54.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Air Products and Chemicals to earn $13.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.7%.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock opened at $292.65 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $65.13 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $280.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.53.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals stock. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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.