Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives $102.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $102.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $71.70 on Friday. Ashland has a 12 month low of $70.67 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.54. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 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 the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 193.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the third quarter worth $38,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the second quarter valued at $71,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.