Ashland (ASH) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Tuesday

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) will issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, April 30th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.19 per share for the quarter. Parties that wish to register for the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $473.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $478.69 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 5.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Ashland to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH traded up $0.54 on Tuesday, reaching $96.21. 314,928 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 451,634. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.95. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $70.82 and a fifty-two week high of $103.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 3.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Ashland from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ashland from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.00.

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.