Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Ashland updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS and its Q4 2024 guidance to EPS.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $83.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90. Ashland has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $102.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.63.

About Ashland

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.