<div id="readability-page-1"><p><span>Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report)</span> had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo &amp; Company  from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo &amp; Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 1.21% from the stock's current price.</p><ul><li>3 chemical stocks to play the industry breakout</li></ul><p>A number of other brokerages have also commented on ASH. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a &#34;sell&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Ashland from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong sell&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings  reissued a &#34;sell (d)&#34; rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ashland from a &#34;market perform&#34; rating to an &#34;outperform&#34; rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday, September 8th. They set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued  a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and an average target price of $63.75.</p><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Report on ASH</b></p><h2>Ashland Trading Down 0.8%</h2><p>Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $59.29 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.02. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Ashland has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $73.84. </p><p>Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 46.25%.The firm had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter.  Sell-side analysts predict that  Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Institutional Trading of Ashland</h2><p>Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in  Ashland in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,680,000.  Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in  Ashland by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 446,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,456,000 after purchasing an additional 41,181 shares during the period.  Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in  Ashland during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,689,000.  Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of  Ashland by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 522,088 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,955,000 after buying an additional 24,478 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of  Ashland by 48.7% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,228,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $72,839,000 after purchasing an additional 402,286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own  93.95% of the company's stock. </p><h2>About Ashland</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Ashland</li><li>When to Sell a Stock for Profit or Loss</li><li>Rocket Lab's Sharp Rebound: What's Behind the Recent Momentum</li><li>What is an Earnings Surprise?  </li><li>Jabil Is Flying Under the Radar—But a 50% Surge May Be Coming</li><li>5 discounted opportunities for dividend growth investors</li><li>Qualcomm’s Monster Rally Has a Catch—Can the Stock Keep Climbing?</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUFTSA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="330" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUFTSA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Ashland Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Ashland, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Ashland wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Ashland currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Wells Fargo & Company raised Ashland's (NYSE:ASH) price target from $51.00 to $60.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating. The new target suggests a 1.21% potential upside. Other analysts have mixed ratings, with a consensus "Hold" and an average target price of $63.75. Ashland's stock opened at $59.29, with a market cap of $2.71 billion. Institutional investors hold 93.95% of the stock.</p>

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Raised to $60.00