Seaport Res Ptn Brokers Raise Earnings Estimates for Ashland

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn increased their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for Ashland in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $1.27 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.26. The consensus estimate for Ashland’s current full-year earnings is $4.33 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ashland’s FY2025 earnings at $4.42 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.87 EPS.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted 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). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Ashland Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $70.73 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland has a twelve month low of $68.14 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,074,000 after purchasing an additional 142,121 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Ashland by 70.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 2,060.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,802,000 after acquiring an additional 170,859 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Ashland by 703.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,206,000 after purchasing an additional 161,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in Ashland by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 18,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.