Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target to $51.00

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $51.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Ashland from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.38.

Ashland Stock Up 6.0%

Ashland stock opened at $53.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $80.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.83, a P/E/G ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.49.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The company had revenue of $509.00 million for the quarter. Ashland has set its FY 2022 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 3,673.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 59.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently 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.