Ashland (NYSE:ASH) PT Raised to $110.00

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective upped by Mizuho from $101.00 to $110.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ASH has been the topic of several other research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ashland from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ashland from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $103.11.

Ashland Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE ASH opened at $95.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Ashland has a 52 week low of $70.82 and a 52 week high of $99.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.72. The company has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.92.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. Ashland’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 139.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,414,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,558,000 after purchasing an additional 824,600 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 33.0% in the third 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. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 274.4% in the fourth 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. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at $22,880,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 17.9% during the 4th 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.