JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Ashland (NYSE:ASH) to Neutral

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) was upgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $89.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $90.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.44% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.63.

Ashland Stock Down 1.3 %

Ashland stock traded down $1.04 on Thursday, hitting $82.07. 716,056 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 413,539. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.74. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Ashland has a 1 year low of $70.82 and a 1 year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.08 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Ashland’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Ashland by 696.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 52,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,415,000 after buying an additional 45,796 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Ashland in the 1st quarter worth $624,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 216,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,042,000 after buying an additional 78,013 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the 1st quarter worth $3,480,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ashland by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,424,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,435,000 after buying an additional 164,468 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.