Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Cut to $74.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $85.00 to $74.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ASH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on Ashland in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ashland from $69.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.40.

Ashland Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $49.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of -74.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. Ashland has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. The company had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 33.1% during 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 buying an additional 569,740 shares in the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 172.5% during the 4th quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,934,000 after acquiring an additional 424,595 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,943,000. Eminence Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,409,000 after purchasing an additional 212,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $200,583,000 after purchasing an additional 208,320 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.