Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $103.29.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $78.06 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland has a 52-week low of $75.04 and a 52-week high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. Ashland’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 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 11.2% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth $728,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 323.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,236,000 after acquiring an additional 54,745 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.