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

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $325.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $270.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.39% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on APD. Argus dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $317.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $1.29 on Friday, hitting $291.77. 317,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,527,148. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12-month low of $229.11 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $64.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -193.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.25.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director directly owned 93,499 shares in the company, valued at $26,573,350.79. This trade represents a 42.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APD. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors 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.