Zacks Research Upgrades Ashland (NYSE:ASH) to Hold

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ASH. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ashland from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners raised Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus dropped their target price on Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.78.

Ashland Stock Down 0.2%

Ashland stock opened at $68.68 on Thursday. Ashland has a 1-year low of $46.29 and a 1-year high of $69.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued 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 business had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.61 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ashland will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 398.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 535.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.