Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives $103.50 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $103.50.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

Ashland Stock Up 2.8 %

ASH stock opened at $87.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $86.34 and its 200 day moving average is $91.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.88. Ashland has a 1-year low of $71.55 and a 1-year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.92%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 198,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,291,000 after buying an additional 5,913 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 75,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,300,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth about $293,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,833,000 after purchasing an additional 5,883 shares during the last quarter. 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.