Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Raised to $78.00

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $58.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.79% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ASH. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.90.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of Ashland stock remained flat at $71.70 during trading hours on Thursday. The stock had a trading volume of 335,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 832,537. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.31. Ashland has a twelve month low of $46.29 and a twelve month high of $74.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 63.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 284.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $172,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555,585 shares in the last quarter. Standard Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Standard Investments LLC now owns 2,625,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $154,009,000 after buying an additional 385,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ashland by 12.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,496,021 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $138,793,000 after buying an additional 267,741 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 775.6% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,900,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,473,000 after buying an additional 1,682,994 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ashland by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,668,000 after acquiring an additional 345,919 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

About Ashland

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.