Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,830,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the November 15th total of 2,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 16.4% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 21,334 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 15,249 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,667,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.0% during the second quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,278,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,707,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 979 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on APD. Mizuho raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Friday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $309.06.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 17.77%. Air Products and Chemicals's quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 11.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 3rd will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 30th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is 63.91%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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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; specialty gases; and equipment for the production or processing of gases comprising air separation units and non-cryogenic generators for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, magnetic resonance imaging, energy production, medical, food, and metals.

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