Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives $103.29 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.29.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the third quarter worth $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Ashland by 193.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 610.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 133.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $78.06 on Wednesday. Ashland has a 1 year low of $75.04 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.55. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.36%.

Ashland Company Profile

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.