Air Products & Chemicals has done well with a specialty niche — providing gases and chemicals to various industries. Unlike some chemicals companies though, the company is firmly entrenched in the ESG camp. It is involved in the green hydrogen market, and other green energy sectors. Air Products stock was down Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the stock Relative Strength (RS) Rating for Air Products stock climbed to 71, up from 68 the day before. The upgraded 71 RS Rating means that Air Products stock outperformed more than 70% of all stocks, regardless of industry, over the past year.
Air Products Stock Other Ratings Shine
In the company's 2023 Sustainability report, CEO Seifi Ghasemi said, "During the past year, Air Products has strengthened its sustainability goals for the future, announced impressive capital spending targets for energy transition projects and continued work on several world-scale, first-mover clean energy projects focused on decarbonizing heavy-duty transportation and industrial sectors."
Among its other key ratings, Air Products stock has an 81 Composite Rating and an outstanding 91 Earnings Per Share Rating out of 99.
It boasts an A SMR Rating (sales + profit margins + return on equity), on an A-to-E scale with A superb and E dismal. Its C- Accumulation/Distribution Rating shows big funds are selling slightly more shares than buying. Look for that to improve to a C or better rating.
Regarding fundamentals, Air Products & Chemicals reported 16% EPS earnings in the latest quarterly report, to $2.98 per share. The prior three quarters its EPS rose 14%, 6% and 17%. Sales dipped 5% to $3.034 billion, its first miss in a year. Look for the company to return to profitability when it reports fiscal Q4 results on Nov. 7
Air Products stock is working on a consolidation with a 328.56 buy point. See if it can clear the breakout price in heavy trade. On Wednesday, Air Products stock fell 2.6% in sync with the market drop for the day.
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Peers In Specialty Chemicals Group
Air Products stock holds the No. 9 rank among its peers in the 43-stock Chemicals-Specialty industry group. NewMarket and U.S. Silica Holdings are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.
When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength.
This exclusive Relative Strength Rating from Investor's Business Daily tracks price performance with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The rating shows how a stock's price behavior over the trailing 52 weeks compares to all the other stocks in our database.
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