Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Announces Earnings Results

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13, Yahoo Finance reports. The business had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share.

Ashland Stock Up 0.3 %

ASH stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.05. 66,086 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 444,279. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.72. Ashland has a 1 year low of $70.82 and a 1 year high of $99.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho upped 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 raised Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.11.

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.