Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Stock Price Target Raised at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $80.00 to $82.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ASH has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ashland from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.80.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $76.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.09. Ashland has a 52-week low of $48.00 and a 52-week high of $78.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 954.46, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.27 by ($0.15). Ashland had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 0.21%. The business had revenue of $996.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $501.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at $68,000. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 5,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 3.2% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,311 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 0.7% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 19,983 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 66.2% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 3,161 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase raised its price target to $82 from $80 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying about 7.4% upside from the cited $76.36 share price. JPMorgan rating information
• Neutral Sentiment: For fiscal 2027, Ashland expects sales of $1.905 billion to $1.975 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $405 million to $435 million. Planned capital spending of up to $140 million may weigh on cash flow as the company invests. Fiscal 2027 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Ashland reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.12 per share, below the roughly $1.30 consensus estimate, although earnings were up from $1.08 a year earlier. Reports also highlighted a swing to a net loss, adding pressure to investor sentiment. Ashland quarterly results and outlook

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty materials company that develops and supplies functional ingredients, additives and solutions for industrial and consumer markets. Its products are used to enhance the performance, stability, texture, appearance and processing of finished goods.

The company serves a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, personal care, coatings, construction, food and beverages, adhesives and specialty chemicals. Its portfolio includes polymers, cellulose-based ingredients, rheology modifiers, film-forming agents, preservatives and other specialty additives used in applications such as drug delivery, skin and hair care, architectural coatings and building materials.

Ashland traces its roots to 1924, when it was established as Ashland Refining Company in Kentucky.