Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.'s (APD Quick QuoteAPD - Free Report) stock looks promising at the moment. The industrial gas giant is well-placed for growth on its project investments, productivity actions and new business deals.

Let's see what makes this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a compelling investment option at the moment.

An Outperformer

Shares of Air Products have gained 25% over a year against the 14.2% rise of its industry. It has also outperformed the S&P 500’s roughly 12.8% rise over the same period.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Estimates Going Up

Over the past two months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Air Products for fiscal 2023 has increased around 0.3%. The consensus estimate for fiscal 2024 has also been revised 1.3% upward over the same time frame. The favorable estimate revisions instill investor confidence in the stock.

Positive Earnings Surprise History

Air Products’ earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters.  It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 1.3%, on average.

Superior Return on Equity (ROE)

Air Products’ ROE of 16.5%, as compared with the industry average of 15.5%, manifests the company’s efficiency in utilizing shareholder’s funds.

Project Investments, Productivity Drive APD

Air Products is benefiting from investments in high-return projects, new business deals, acquisitions and productivity initiatives. It remains committed to its gasification strategy and is executing its growth projects. These projects are expected to be accretive to earnings and cash flows. APD is realizing the benefits of the completion of the second phase of the Jazan project in Saudi Arabia.

The company has a total available capacity to deploy (over fiscal 2018-2027) $34.8 billion in high-return investments aimed at creating significant shareholder value. It has already spent or committed 70% of the capacity.

Air Products is also driving productivity to improve its cost structure. It is seeing the positive impacts of its productivity actions. Benefits from additional productivity and cost improvement programs are likely to support its margins moving ahead.

The company also remains committed to maximize returns to shareholders leveraging strong balance sheet and cash flows. APD, earlier this year, increased its quarterly dividend by 8% to $1.75 per share from $1.62 per share. This marked the 41st straight year of dividend increase. The company expects to pay more than $1.5 billion to shareholders in 2023.

Other Stocks to Consider

Other top-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space include PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG Quick QuotePPG - Free Report) , Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS Quick QuoteCRS - Free Report) and Linde plc (LIN Quick QuoteLIN - Free Report) .

PPG Industries currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PPG's current-year earnings has been stable over the past 60 days.

PPG Industries’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 6.8%, on average. PPG shares have gained around 29% in a year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings for CRS is currently pegged at $1.04, implying year-over-year growth of 6.3%. Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Carpenter Technology has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 198.1%, on average. The stock has gained around 112% in a year.

Linde currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LIN’s current-year earnings has been revised 0.7% upward in the past 60 days.

Linde beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.9% on average. LIN shares have risen roughly 32% in the past year.