Ashland (NYSE:ASH) PT Raised to $105.00

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its target price boosted by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $97.00 to $105.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently 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 current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ASH. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.44.

Ashland Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $97.57 on Tuesday. Ashland has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $99.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.87 and a 200 day moving average of $87.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88 and a beta of 0.92.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 143.9% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Ashland by 338.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 163.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.