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

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

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.37. The company had a trading volume of 453,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,555. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.89. Ashland has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on ASH shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. 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, May 1st. One 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, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.88.

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.