Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $69.00 and last traded at $69.54, with a volume of 14948 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $70.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Ashland Stock Down 1.8 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.45. 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 market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $522.00 million during 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 business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other Ashland news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,883 shares in the company, 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 Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ashland by 6,127.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,574,000 after buying an additional 866,320 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 616.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,875,000 after purchasing an additional 162,776 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 407.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,202,000 after buying an additional 112,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 6.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,131,000 after buying an additional 103,517 shares during the last quarter. 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.