Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ASH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Monday, September 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.57.

Ashland Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $48.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of -2.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.49. Ashland has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $88.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. Ashland has set its FY 2022 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 284.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $172,318,000 after buying an additional 2,555,585 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Ashland by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,847,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $143,164,000 after purchasing an additional 84,086 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Ashland by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,383,000 after purchasing an additional 569,740 shares during the last quarter. Cooperman Leon G grew its position in Ashland by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Cooperman Leon G now owns 1,694,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,446,000 after purchasing an additional 240,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,683,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $99,822,000 after purchasing an additional 115,811 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.