Company Update: Air Products & Chemicals Inc (NYSE:APD) – Air Products Increases Quarterly Dividend for 34th Consecutive Year

[PR Newswire] – LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — The Board of Directors of Air Products (APD) today increased the quarterly dividend on the company’s common stock to 86 cents per share from 81 cents, representing a six percent increase. The dividend is payable on May 9, 2016 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 1, 2016. This marks the 34th consecutive year that Air Products has increased its dividend payment. Read more on this. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD) , with a current market cap of $30.29B, opened at $137.10. During the trading session, APD traded between $136.20 to $141.40 and has traded between $114.64 and $155.79 over the past year. Priced at 18.09x this year’s forecasted earnings, APD shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 13.07x forward p/e ratio. And for dividend hunters, the company pays shareholders $3.24 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.38%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 16 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $1.80 per share, which would be $0.25 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.04 sequential increase. The full-year EPS estimate is $7.41, which would be a $0.84 better than last year. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $2.37 Billion. If reported, that would be a 1.66% decrease over the year-ago quarter. Recently, KeyBanc Capital Mkts upgraded APD from Sector Weight to Overweight (Jan 11, 2016). Previously, Citigroup downgraded APD from Buy to Neutral. The average price target for APD shares by the analysts covering it is $145.72, which is 6.29% above where the stock opened. See more in (NYSE:APD) Similar Articles: Company Update: Air Products & Chemicals Inc (NYSE:APD) – Chemicals – Major Diversified Stocks Review — The Dow Chemical, Huntsman, Air Products and Chemicals, and Praxair Stock Update: Air Products & Chemicals Inc (NYSE:APD) – Logo Unveiled for Air Products’ Spin-Off Company Versum Materials Company Update: Air Products & Chemicals Inc (NYSE:APD) – Air Products’ CEO to Address Morgan Stanley Global Chemicals and Agriculture Conference on 10 November