Jefferies Reiterates Hold Rating On ARG

“Jefferies believes that Airgas (NYSE: ARG) remains well-positioned to benefit from secular trends that favor both faster-than-GDP growth and strong FCF generation,” Jefferies writes. “With Air Products' (NYSE: APD) bid driving the share price, we reiterate our Hold rating.

“Excluding $0.15 in net one-time items, Q3 EPS of $0.80, up 23%, was $0.01 above consensus. The company raised the FY11 adjusted EPS outlook range to $3.28-$3.32 (vs. our estimate of $3.30), including $0.10 incremental SAP implementation costs.”

Airgas currently trades at $17.85.