Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

ASH has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on Ashland in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.30.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $73.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Ashland has a 1-year low of $46.29 and a 1-year high of $74.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.02.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $482.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.61 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ashland will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -10.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fruth Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $210,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 38.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the first quarter valued at $205,000. Dayah Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ashland in the first quarter worth $5,561,000. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ashland by 25.8% in the first quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Activist settlement fuels strategic-action speculation. Ashland agreed to cooperate with Ancora Holdings, which has urged the specialty-chemicals company to consider strategic alternatives, including a potential sale. The agreement includes two independent directors and a Capital Allocation Advisory Committee, increasing expectations that Ashland could pursue measures to unlock shareholder value. A second activist, Cruiser Capital, has also advocated exploring a sale. Ashland announces appointment of two new directors as part of Cooperation Agreement with stockholder Ancora
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and volumes exceeded expectations. Fiscal Q3 sales rose 7% year over year to $497 million, above consensus, while sales volumes increased 6% across all business units. Life Sciences sales grew 11% to $180 million, Personal Care increased 5% to $155 million, and Intermediates rose 12% to $37 million. Ashland reports third quarter 2026 results and reaffirms outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation and full-year targets remain intact. Operating cash flow reached $121 million and ongoing free cash flow was $103 million. Ashland reaffirmed fiscal 2026 sales guidance of $1.835 billion to $1.870 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $385 million to $400 million.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment has improved. Following strong prior-quarter results, analysts maintained favorable ratings and raised some price targets, including targets of $72 and $75. However, the six-analyst median target of $63.50 is below recent trading levels, suggesting expectations are already elevated. Ashland Analysts Increase Their Forecasts After Strong Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability remains a concern. Adjusted EPS of $1.02 narrowly missed consensus, adjusted EBITDA declined 4% to $109 million, and Ashland reduced its adjusted EPS growth outlook to low-to-mid-single-digit growth from mid-to-high-single-digit growth because of a higher tax rate. Specialty Additives and Intermediates earnings also fell.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.