Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Increased to $105.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price target upped by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $97.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target suggests a potential upside of 7.62% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.44.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $97.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.87 and its 200-day moving average is $87.36. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $70.82 and a fifty-two week high of $99.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.64 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 17.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 682 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 14,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

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.