Ashland Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.41 (NYSE:ASH)

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Saturday, March 15th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Ashland has raised its dividend by an average of 10.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Ashland has a dividend payout ratio of 30.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Ashland to earn $5.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.5%.

Ashland Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $73.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87. Ashland has a 12-month low of $68.14 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.00. 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 (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Ashland’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s 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 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. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

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.