Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Raised to $116.00 at UBS Group

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $114.00 to $116.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ashland from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet upgraded Ashland from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $103.11.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $95.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 3.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $70.82 and a fifty-two week high of $99.55.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 139.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,414,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $115,558,000 after purchasing an additional 824,600 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Ashland by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,260,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $184,624,000 after buying an additional 560,916 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 274.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 495,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,797,000 after buying an additional 363,328 shares during the period. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter worth $22,880,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,656,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $139,673,000 after acquiring an additional 252,104 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc provides additives and specialty ingredients in the North and Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Life Sciences, Personal Care, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates segments. The Life Sciences segment offers pharmaceutical solutions, including controlled release polymers, disintegrants, tablet coatings, thickeners, solubilizers, and tablet binders; nutrition solutions, such as thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and additives; and nutraceutical solutions comprising products for weight management, joint comfort, stomach and intestinal health, sports nutrition, and general wellness, as well as custom formulation, toll processing, and particle engineering solutions.