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Air Products Declares Pricing Milestone at Fueling Stations
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Air Products (APD - Free Report) declared that it has achieved a pricing milestone at several California fueling stations. The fueling stations are now offering hydrogen to fuel cell electric vehicles customers at under $10 per kilogram. The reasonable pricing has been driven by the recent advancements in fueling technology and an increase in the volume of vehicles using the company’s stations.
The five fueling stations are currently able to offer hydrogen at the new pricing milestone. These are situated at West Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, Fairfax, Santa Monica, and soon-to-be operational station in Lawndale. Hydrogen is an efficient energy carrier than traditional fuels in an internal combustion engine and also has lower fueling costs. This makes it a viable alternative fuel source.
Air Products has underperformed the Zacks categorized Chemicals-Diversified industry over the past three months. The company’s shares have declined around 6.5% over this period, compared to roughly 4.7% gain recorded by the industry.
Air Products is well positioned to capitalize on the cyclical recovery in core industrial end-markets. The company has built a strong project backlog. These projects are expected to be accretive to earnings and cash flow over the next few years. Acquisitions and new business wins are expected to continue to drive results in the near term. The company is also progressing well with its $600 million cost-cutting program.
However, Air Product’s industrial gases business in the EMEA region is seeing pressure from a weak operating environment. The company is also seeing lower volumes in Latin America due to weak demand. Moreover, volumes in packaged gases continue to be weak while LNG sales remain under pressure due to low project activity. The company is also exposed to currency headwinds and has a debt-laden balance sheet.
Air Products missed earnings expectations in first-quarter fiscal 2017 (ended Dec 31, 2016). The company logged first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.47 per share, up 9% from the year-ago quarter. However, earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.48. Revenues inched up 1% year over year to $1.88 billion in the reported quarter but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.96 billion.
For second-quarter fiscal 2017, Air Products expects adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $1.30 to $1.40 per share. Air Products also expects adjusted earnings for fiscal 2017 in the range of $6.00 to $6.25 per share, up 9% year over year at the midpoint. The company expects capital expenditures of roughly $1 billion in fiscal 2017.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Price and Consensus
Chemours has an expected long-term growth of 15.5% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Albemarle has an expected long-term growth of 10.3% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.
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Air Products Declares Pricing Milestone at Fueling Stations
Air Products (APD - Free Report) declared that it has achieved a pricing milestone at several California fueling stations. The fueling stations are now offering hydrogen to fuel cell electric vehicles customers at under $10 per kilogram. The reasonable pricing has been driven by the recent advancements in fueling technology and an increase in the volume of vehicles using the company’s stations.
The five fueling stations are currently able to offer hydrogen at the new pricing milestone. These are situated at West Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, Fairfax, Santa Monica, and soon-to-be operational station in Lawndale. Hydrogen is an efficient energy carrier than traditional fuels in an internal combustion engine and also has lower fueling costs. This makes it a viable alternative fuel source.
Air Products has underperformed the Zacks categorized Chemicals-Diversified industry over the past three months. The company’s shares have declined around 6.5% over this period, compared to roughly 4.7% gain recorded by the industry.
Air Products is well positioned to capitalize on the cyclical recovery in core industrial end-markets. The company has built a strong project backlog. These projects are expected to be accretive to earnings and cash flow over the next few years. Acquisitions and new business wins are expected to continue to drive results in the near term. The company is also progressing well with its $600 million cost-cutting program.
However, Air Product’s industrial gases business in the EMEA region is seeing pressure from a weak operating environment. The company is also seeing lower volumes in Latin America due to weak demand. Moreover, volumes in packaged gases continue to be weak while LNG sales remain under pressure due to low project activity. The company is also exposed to currency headwinds and has a debt-laden balance sheet.
Air Products missed earnings expectations in first-quarter fiscal 2017 (ended Dec 31, 2016). The company logged first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.47 per share, up 9% from the year-ago quarter. However, earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.48. Revenues inched up 1% year over year to $1.88 billion in the reported quarter but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.96 billion.
For second-quarter fiscal 2017, Air Products expects adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $1.30 to $1.40 per share. Air Products also expects adjusted earnings for fiscal 2017 in the range of $6.00 to $6.25 per share, up 9% year over year at the midpoint. The company expects capital expenditures of roughly $1 billion in fiscal 2017.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Price and Consensus
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Price and Consensus | Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Quote
Air Products currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Key Picks
Better-ranked companies in the chemical space include Univar Inc. , The Chemours Company (CC - Free Report) and Albermale Corp. (ALB - Free Report) .
Univar has an expected long-term growth of 9.4% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Chemours has an expected long-term growth of 15.5% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Albemarle has an expected long-term growth of 10.3% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >>