Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on ASH. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $103.50.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $85.01 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $90.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.88. Ashland has a 12-month low of $70.82 and a 12-month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 42.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASH. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,354,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $447,000. Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth $453,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.