Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 EPS.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $95.85. 229,841 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,361. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $99.55. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ASH shares. TheStreet raised shares of Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.