DZ Bank Upgrades Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) to “Strong-Buy”

Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) was upgraded by DZ Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Basf in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Basf from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays lowered Basf from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Berenberg Bank raised Basf from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Basf from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Basf Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS BASFY opened at $13.30 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.12. Basf has a fifty-two week low of $10.75 and a fifty-two week high of $15.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The basic materials company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.42). The company had revenue of $16.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Basf had a return on equity of 4.37% and a net margin of 2.59%. Equities research analysts forecast that Basf will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Basf Company Profile

BASF SE is a Germany-based chemical company founded in 1865 (originally Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik) and headquartered in Ludwigshafen. It is one of the world’s largest chemical producers, supplying raw materials, intermediates and finished chemical products to a broad range of industries including automotive, construction, agriculture, consumer goods, electronics and industrial manufacturing. The company combines large-scale production with global commercial and logistics networks to serve customers in many end markets.

BASF’s activities span basic and specialty chemicals, performance materials, functional additives, catalysts and coatings, as well as products for nutrition and personal care.