Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Raised to $116.00 at UBS Group

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $114.00 to $116.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. TheStreet raised shares of Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.89.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock traded down $3.53 on Wednesday, hitting $91.80. The company had a trading volume of 244,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,080. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $100.35.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 7.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commerce Bank boosted its position in Ashland by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 122.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 4,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Ashland by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 5.8% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is 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.