We recently published a list of 10 Best Performing Large Cap Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) stands against other best performing large cap stocks to buy according to analysts.
Q4 2024 Market Performance Overview
On January 6, Pathstone released its quarterly Flash Report for Q4 2024. The report highlighted several key trends and challenges for the financial markets. It highlighted that despite some volatility towards the end of the quarter in December, the US equity market continued to outperform the international markets, particularly led by the large-cap stocks. Large-cap stocks gained 7.1% during the fourth quarter, driven by strong economic fundamentals, including robust labor market data and high consumer spending during the holiday season. On the other hand, the continued strength of the USD and the persistent inflation led to a decline in other developed markets internationally.
In comparison to the large-cap stocks, small-caps faced significant challenges, experiencing a sharp monthly decline of 8.3% in December, though the sector managed a slight quarterly gain of 0.3%. As per the report, this underperformance was partly due to policy uncertainty and rising long-term yields, which dampened expectations for smaller companies. The fixed-income market also struggled, with long-term Treasury bonds declining by 9.7% for the quarter as the 10-year Treasury yield increased to 4.6%. Moreover, while elaborating on the labor market quarterly performance, the report highlighted that the US labor market demonstrated resilience in November, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 227,000 jobs, surpassing expectations of 200,000. This growth marked a significant recovery from October’s numbers, which were affected by hurricanes and strikes. Although the unemployment rate increased to 4.2%, the labor market showed fundamental strength despite higher interest rates.
One of the key market trends that have helped large-cap growth stocks is the strength of the American consumer market. Consumer spending was exceptionally strong during the holiday season, breaking previous records across both traditional retail and online channels. However, regardless Inflation remains a significant concern as the Consumer Price Index reached 2.7% in November, above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Persistent inflationary pressures are influencing the Fed’s monetary policy approach, leading to a more cautious stance on future rate cuts. Lastly, the report highlights that the economic landscape ahead presents a complex mix of resilience and risk. While the labor market and spending provide a solid foundation to the market persistent inflation, higher interest rates, and policy uncertainty pose potential challenges.
Our Methodology
To curate the list of 10 best-performing large-cap stocks to buy according to analysts, we used the Finviz stock screener to get an aggregated list of stocks. Using the screener we aggregated a list of large-cap stocks that have performed positively over the past year and analysts still see upside potential over the next 12 months. Next, we cross-checked the performance and analyst upside potential of each stock from CNN and ranked these stocks in ascending order of analysts’ upside potential. We have also added the number of hedge funds holding each stock, sourced from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database. Please note that the data was collected on February 28th, 2025.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A line of workers in a refinery wearing protective suits and masks, overseeing the production process of specialty gases.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)
1-Year Performance: 35.22%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60
Analyst Upside Potential: 15.45%
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) is a leading industrial gas company that provides essential gases and related equipment to various industries. It produces and supplies gasses including oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and helium to manufacturing, food processing, and electronics industries. The company is also involved in developing and operating clean hydrogen projects to support the transition to low-carbon energy, especially in the transportation and industrial sectors.
On February 25, John Roberts, an analyst at Mizuho Securities maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $385. The analyst noted that the company’s new CEO has announced significant project write-downs of $3 billion. Despite the substantial amount, these write-downs do not affect its adjusted EPS targets. Roberts believes this move will further reduce the capital expenditure, particularly for the projects that have not been completed yet. Moreover, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) continues to focus on major clean hydrogen projects in Alberta, NEOM, and Louisiana. The analyst believes these projects will leverage cheap North American natural gas and will also take advantage of the credits that offset carbon capture and sequestration operating expenses. It is one of the best-performing large-cap stocks to buy according to analysts.
ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy stated the following regarding Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has also made strong contributions recently, delivering operationally and announcing a major offtake agreement for its NEOM green hydrogen project in June. Strong fundamentals for APD are shining through a soft Chinese industrial economy, and it continues to shore up the strength of its core industrial gases franchise, committing to not invest additional capital on big projects until they soak up existing capacity, putting a management structure in place to allow for more accountability and announcing board-initiated succession planning that will help built investor confidence for the future. The company is also tightening up its operational focus by divesting non-core assets and streamlining operations.”
Overall, APD ranks 7th on our list of best performing large cap stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of APD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than APD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
