Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Given New $80.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised Ashland’s price target from $75 to $80 while keeping an “equal weight” rating; the target implies 2.48% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with seven Buy and five Hold ratings and an average target of $75.30.
• Ashland reported quarterly EPS of $1.12, below the $1.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 4.2% year over year.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.48% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on ASH. Zacks Research raised Ashland from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ashland from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.30.

Ashland Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of ASH traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $78.07. The stock had a trading volume of 32,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,309. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $48.00 and a fifty-two week high of $79.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 975.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $996.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $501.76 million. Ashland had a net margin of 0.21% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Ashland in the third quarter worth $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth $35,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Ashland by 989.6% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Ashland during the third quarter valued at about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Company Profile

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