Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.00.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Ashland Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $55.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.64, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. Ashland has a one year low of $54.16 and a one year high of $102.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $65.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.90%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at $1,265,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 138,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,922,000 after acquiring an additional 18,100 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 4,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 20,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,728,000 after acquiring an additional 3,801 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.