Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04, RTT News reports. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Ashland updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS and its Q4 2024 guidance to EPS.

Ashland Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of ASH opened at $83.16 on Friday. Ashland has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASH. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.63.

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.