Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at BMO Capital Markets

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) was upgraded by BMO Capital Markets from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.30.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $73.20 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.02. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 64.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Ashland has a 52 week low of $46.29 and a 52 week high of $74.99.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Ashland had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business had revenue of $482.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ashland will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,668,000 after purchasing an additional 345,919 shares in the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,342,000. ING Groep NV bought a new position in Ashland in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,974,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the second quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Ashland by 346.6% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 83,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,911,000 after buying an additional 64,968 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Activist settlement fuels strategic-action speculation. Ashland agreed to cooperate with Ancora Holdings, which has urged the specialty-chemicals company to consider strategic alternatives, including a potential sale. The agreement includes two independent directors and a Capital Allocation Advisory Committee, increasing expectations that Ashland could pursue measures to unlock shareholder value. A second activist, Cruiser Capital, has also advocated exploring a sale. Ashland announces appointment of two new directors as part of Cooperation Agreement with stockholder Ancora
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and volumes exceeded expectations. Fiscal Q3 sales rose 7% year over year to $497 million, above consensus, while sales volumes increased 6% across all business units. Life Sciences sales grew 11% to $180 million, Personal Care increased 5% to $155 million, and Intermediates rose 12% to $37 million. Ashland reports third quarter 2026 results and reaffirms outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation and full-year targets remain intact. Operating cash flow reached $121 million and ongoing free cash flow was $103 million. Ashland reaffirmed fiscal 2026 sales guidance of $1.835 billion to $1.870 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $385 million to $400 million.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment has improved. Following strong prior-quarter results, analysts maintained favorable ratings and raised some price targets, including targets of $72 and $75. However, the six-analyst median target of $63.50 is below recent trading levels, suggesting expectations are already elevated. Ashland Analysts Increase Their Forecasts After Strong Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability remains a concern. Adjusted EPS of $1.02 narrowly missed consensus, adjusted EBITDA declined 4% to $109 million, and Ashland reduced its adjusted EPS growth outlook to low-to-mid-single-digit growth from mid-to-high-single-digit growth because of a higher tax rate. Specialty Additives and Intermediates earnings also fell.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.