J.P. Morgan Maintains Neutral on Ashland

J.P. Morgan is out with its report today on Ashland ASH, maintaining Neutral. In a note to clients, J.P. Morgan writes, "We rate ASH shares Neutral. We view the stock as reasonably valued at the current price. The shares currently trade at 6.1x pro forma 2012E EV/EBITDA. We establish our December 2012 price target for Ashland shares of $70.00, or 6.5x pro forma EBITDA and 13.3x EPS using our F2012 estimates, which compares to mid-cap specialty chemical companies currently trading in the ranges of 4.7x-6.4x EBITDA and 10.4x-15.8x P/E for F2012E." J.P. Morgan maintains a $70 PT on ASH. Shares of ASH closed Friday at $63.27.