Seaport Res Ptn Has Negative View of Ashland FY2025 Earnings

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ashland in a research report issued on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $4.48 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.70. The consensus estimate for Ashland’s current full-year earnings is $4.52 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ashland’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.94 EPS.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Ashland Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:ASH opened at $74.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.95. Ashland has a 1-year low of $72.83 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.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.36%.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASH. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,134,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at $713,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Ashland by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,492,000 after buying an additional 14,938 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth $2,442,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 120,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,501,000 after acquiring an additional 70,145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.