Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Sets New 1-Year Low on Insider Selling

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $76.00 and last traded at $76.00, with a volume of 556 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.96.

Specifically, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.29.

Ashland Stock Down 0.8 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in Ashland by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Ashland by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in Ashland by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Ashland by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. 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.