Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $70.70 and last traded at $71.41, with a volume of 330585 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $71.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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 company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Ashland Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.74. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Ashland by 5.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 3.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

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.