Short Interest in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Increases By 37.4%

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,590,000 shares, an increase of 37.4% from the September 15th total of 3,340,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. CX Institutional boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on APD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.24.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD traded up $1.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $322.18. 1,122,413 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,626,041. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.45. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $324.52. The company has a market cap of $71.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. On average, analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.