Monness Crespi & Hardt Upgrades Ashland Global (NYSE:ASH) to Buy
Ashland Global (NYSE:ASH) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Monness Crespi & Hardt from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, October 14th, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $88.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.23% from the stock’s previous close.
ASH has been the subject of several other reports. SunTrust Banks decreased their target price on shares of Ashland Global from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Ashland Global from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Credit Suisse Group set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Ashland Global and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Buckingham Research upped their price objective on shares of Ashland Global from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.38.
Shares of ASH stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $78.41. 335,461 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 661,516. Ashland Global has a 1-year low of $64.93 and a 1-year high of $84.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.27.
Ashland Global (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.77. Ashland Global had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The firm had revenue of $641.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $640.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ashland Global will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ashland Global by 417.8% in the second quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 5,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ashland Global by 2.3% in the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 116,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,317,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Ashland Global during the second quarter worth $484,000. Marshall Wace North America L.P. boosted its position in Ashland Global by 179.2% during the first quarter. Marshall Wace North America L.P. now owns 457,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,706,000 after purchasing an additional 293,352 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Ashland Global by 16.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,231 shares during the period. 95.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Ashland Global
Ashland Global Holdings Inc provides specialty chemical solutions worldwide. The company’s Specialty Ingredients segment offers products, technologies, and resources for solving formulation and product-performance challenges. It provides solutions using natural, synthetic, and semisynthetic polymers derived from cellulose ethers, vinyl pyrrolidones, acrylic polymers, polyester and polyurethane-based adhesives, and plant and seed extracts.
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