Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Ashland (NYSE:ASH) to “Overweight”

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $112.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $100.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.67% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ASH. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. TheStreet raised shares of Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.00.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $95.18 on Thursday. Ashland has a 1-year low of $70.82 and a 1-year high of $105.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.16. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $473.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $478.69 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 5.95%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 122.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Ashland by 338.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.