Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $307.95 and last traded at $307.6910, with a volume of 153230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $303.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $291.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.250-3.350 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 76.61%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the business’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 value of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 93,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,573,350.79. The trade was a 42.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3,233.3% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.