Ashland Inc. (ASH) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 28th

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Saturday, March 15th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Ashland has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.8% per year over the last three years. Ashland has a dividend payout ratio of 30.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ashland to earn $5.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.5%.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $70.73 on Thursday. Ashland has a 1-year low of $68.14 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.87 and a 200 day moving average of $82.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This represents 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 link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.02% 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.