Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Overweight

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $112.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $100.00.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ashland from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an outperform rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Ashland from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ashland from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $101.00.

Ashland Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $96.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.08. Ashland has a 1-year low of $70.82 and a 1-year high of $105.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $473.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $478.69 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 7.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 50.49%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 139.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,414,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,558,000 after acquiring an additional 824,600 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ashland by 33.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,260,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,624,000 after acquiring an additional 560,916 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 274.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 495,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,797,000 after acquiring an additional 363,328 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth $31,908,000. Finally, Atlantic Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the third quarter worth $22,880,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

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.