Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Given New $116.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $114.00 to $116.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Ashland from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ashland from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ashland from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an outperform rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $102.89.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $94.50 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.98 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $100.35.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 7.62% and a return on equity of 5.95%. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. Ashland’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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 period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 143.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 338.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 43.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.