Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target to $90.00

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 21.42% from the stock’s current price.

ASH has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.00.

Ashland Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $74.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $74.00 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Ashland by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $728,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 323.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,236,000 after purchasing an additional 54,745 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.