Ashland Global Holdings Inc. ASH announced that it is increasing the price of 1,4-Butanediol and various derivative products in North America.

The company is increasing the price of 1,4 butanediol by 45 cents per pound. The price hike of both n-methyl-pyrrolidone, 2-pyrrolidone and tetrahydrofuran is 50 cents per pound.

The company is increasing the prices of gamma-butyrolactone by 60 cents per pound.

The price hikes are effective from Jan 1, 2021, or as agreements allow. Micropure and other specialty grades or packaged material might carry a bigger price hike.

Shares of Ashland have gained 35.6% in the past year compared with a 7.9% rise of the industry.

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In its last earnings call, Ashland, stated that it expects sales in the range of $2.25-$2.35 billion for fiscal 2022. It also anticipates adjusted EBITDA between $550 million and $570 million.

The company noted that it projects improving demand across its businesses with no change in its underlying operating performance for fiscal 2022. It expects cost inflation along with supply chain issues. The company also anticipates the execution of its strategy, demonstration of organic growth, improvement in margins and enhanced free cash flow generation in fiscal 2022.

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. Price and Consensus

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. price-consensus-chart | Ashland Global Holdings Inc. Quote

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Ashland currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Nucor Corporation NUE, The Chemours Company CC and Celanese Corporation CE.

Nucor has an expected earnings growth rate of 583.2% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised 7.7% upward in the past 60 days.

Nucor beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the last four quarters, while missing the same twice. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 2.74%, on average. The stock has surged around 92.8% in a year. NUE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Chemours has an expected earnings growth rate of 105.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has been revised 10% upward in the past 60 days.

Chemours beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all of the last four quarters. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 34.2%, on average. CC has increased around 16.5% over a year. CC currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Celanese has a projected earnings growth rate of 139.5% for the current year. The consensus estimate for the current year has been revised 8.8% upward in the past 60 days.

Celanese beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters. CE has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12.7%, on average. The company’s shares have gained around 15.9% in a year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

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