Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.50.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH stock traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $86.26. 330,842 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,549. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.88. Ashland has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 163.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 664,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,019,000 after purchasing an additional 37,977 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Ashland by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in Ashland by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 17,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.