Is It Too Late To Consider Buying Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)?
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NYSE over the last few months, increasing to US$291 at one point, and dropping to the lows of US$253. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Air Products and Chemicals' current trading price of US$263 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Air Products and Chemicals’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.
Check out our latest analysis for Air Products and Chemicals
Is Air Products and Chemicals still cheap?
The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Air Products and Chemicals’s ratio of 30.72x is trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 27.91x, which means if you buy Air Products and Chemicals today, you’d be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe that Air Products and Chemicals should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. In addition to this, it seems like Air Products and Chemicals’s share price is quite stable, which could mean there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s trading around the price multiples of other industry peers. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.
Can we expect growth from Air Products and Chemicals?
Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to grow by 44% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Air Products and Chemicals. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? APD’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at APD? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below the industry PE ratio?
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on APD, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for APD, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
If you'd like to know more about Air Products and Chemicals as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Air Products and Chemicals and we think they deserve your attention.
If you are no longer interested in Air Products and Chemicals, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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