Company Update (NYSE:PX): Praxair Expands Helium Supply in Central Europe

[Business Wire] – Praxair, Inc. announced today that it has signed a long-term agreement for the purchase of liquid helium from Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA , a leader in the Polish natural gas market, as well as the only producer of helium in Central Europe. Read more on this. Praxair Inc. (PX) , valued at $33.09B, opened at $115.24. Looking at the stock, its one day range is $115.10 to $116.19 with its 52-week range being $95.60 to $124.17. Priced at 20.57x this year’s forecasted earnings, PX shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s -24.46x forward p/e ratio. The company pays shareholders $3.00 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.61%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 19 sell-side analysts are looking at $1.36 per share, which would be $0.09 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.00 sequential decrease. What we find to be interesting is that the full-year EPS estimate of $5.56 is a $0.24 setback when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $2.60 Billion. If realized, that would be a 5.11% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Deutsche Bank downgraded PX from Buy to Hold (Apr 4, 2016). Previously, KeyBanc Capital Mkts downgraded PX from Overweight to Sector Weight. The average price target for PX shares is $118.67, which is 2.98% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:PX) Similar Articles: Market Update: Praxair Inc (NYSE:PX) – Praxair Signs Contracts to Install OPTIMELTTM and Oxygen Supply Systems with Leading Glassmaker Market Update: Praxair Inc (NYSE:PX) – Praxair Signs Long-Term Contract with Total and Further Expands Pipeline Network in the Port of Antwerp Market Update: Praxair Inc (NYSE:PX) – Praxair Expands Presence in South Carolina