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

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $88.00 to $90.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ashland from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Ashland from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $103.11.

Ashland Stock Up 0.1 %

Ashland stock opened at $95.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Ashland has a 1-year low of $70.82 and a 1-year high of $99.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.85.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 143.9% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Ashland by 338.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Ashland by 43.1% during 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 during the period. 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.