UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Stock Price

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its target price reduced by UBS Group from $95.00 to $93.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 34.13% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH traded down $1.83 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.34. 226,355 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 467,430. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland has a 12-month low of $68.14 and a 12-month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Ashland by 6.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after buying an additional 103,517 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,074,000 after purchasing an additional 142,121 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 2.6% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 297,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,045,000 after purchasing an additional 7,478 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ashland

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.