Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13, Yahoo Finance reports. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $574.64 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 7.62%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Ashland updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS and its Q3 2024 guidance to EPS.

Ashland Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Ashland stock traded down $0.83 on Wednesday, reaching $94.50. 925,749 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 449,762. Ashland has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $100.35. The company has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.49 and a 200 day moving average of $86.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on ASH shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded Ashland from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ashland from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.89.

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.