Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.78.

Ashland Stock Down 0.2%

ASH stock opened at $68.68 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $62.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.54. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $46.29 and a fifty-two week high of $69.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 3.06. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.41.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Ashland will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -10.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 59.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 38.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 398.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 535.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.