Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives $68.40 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.40.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Ashland Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:ASH opened at $52.45 on Thursday. Ashland has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $98.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.85, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.31.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -69.17%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Abound Wealth Management bought a new stake in Ashland during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 2,736.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Ashland by 212.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Ashland by 63.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 285.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

About Ashland

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.