Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Lowered to $67.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $71.00 to $67.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ASH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.60.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH opened at $49.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.31. Ashland has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.79 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -67.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 323.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,236,000 after buying an additional 54,745 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Ashland during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Ashland by 11.2% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ashland by 66.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 169,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,752,000 after purchasing an additional 67,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 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.