Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Stock Price

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $70.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ASH. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ashland from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on Ashland in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.90.

Ashland Stock Down 0.2%

ASH stock opened at $72.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 63.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.62 and a 200-day moving average of $60.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 3.05. Ashland has a one year low of $46.29 and a one year high of $74.99.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.61 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 2.82%.The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ashland will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASH. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 345,919 shares in the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ashland during the fourth quarter worth $10,342,000. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Ashland during the fourth quarter worth $9,974,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the second quarter valued at $264,000. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Ashland by 346.6% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 83,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,911,000 after purchasing an additional 64,968 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Company Profile

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.