Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.40.

ASH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $80.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Ashland by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $59.41 on Tuesday. Ashland has a 1 year low of $54.86 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.37.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

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.