Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives $85.40 Average PT from Brokerages

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.40.

ASH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Ashland Stock Performance

Ashland stock opened at $49.08 on Tuesday. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $47.29 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.56.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s payout ratio is -245.45%.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 105.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 119,135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after buying an additional 61,058 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,134,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Ashland by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,964,000 after acquiring an additional 7,709 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 138.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 120,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,501,000 after purchasing an additional 70,145 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 66.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 169,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,752,000 after purchasing an additional 67,980 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.