Hedge Funds’ Favorite Industrial Stocks Going Into 2016

#1 Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

– Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 55

– Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $6.75 Billion

Despite witnessing the largest drop in popularity among the stocks in this list, Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) was the favorite industrial stocks among hedge funds during the fourth quarter. Shares of the company  saw a consistent decline in the period between February last year and January this year. However, they have recently started moving up and currently trade up 2.2% year-to-date. During the fourth quarter, hedge funds covered by us that were long the stock declined by 22 and the aggregate values of their holdings in it slid by over $1 billion. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) is currently in the process of spinning off its lower-margin materials technologies business into a separately trading public entity ‘ Versum Materials’; it expects this spin-off to get completed by September this year. Analysts think that post this spin off the company will be able to focus on its high-margin core business of industrial gases, which will help it in increasing shareholders returns. In addition, they also feel that the routine multi-million dollar purchases of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.’s stock by the company’s CEO between 2013 and 2016 has helped in boosting investors’ confidence in the company. Billionaire Bill Ackman‘s Pershing Square continued to own 20.55 million shares of the company, at the end of December.

Disclosure: None