Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Increased to $90.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $88.00 to $90.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 5.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ASH. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet raised shares of Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho raised their price target on Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.11.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH traded up $0.73 on Thursday, hitting $95.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 93,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,515. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.66. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $70.82 and a fifty-two week high of $99.55. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.59% and a net margin of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.64 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 4,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Company Profile

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.