Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 1st

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 1.79 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, May 12th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77.

Air Products and Chemicals has decreased its dividend by an average of 4.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 35 years. Air Products and Chemicals has a payout ratio of 50.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Air Products and Chemicals to earn $14.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.4%.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $323.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $337.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $309.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on APD. Evercore ISI raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $330.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.71.

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.