StockNews.com Upgrades Ashland (NYSE:ASH) to Buy

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH traded down $6.88 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,702,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 554,322. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland has a 12 month low of $63.93 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 6,127.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,574,000 after acquiring an additional 866,320 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000,000 after buying an additional 284,215 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 2,060.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,802,000 after purchasing an additional 170,859 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Ashland by 703.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after buying an additional 161,812 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after acquiring an additional 103,517 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Company Profile

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.