Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.1250.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ashland in a research note on Monday, September 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ashland from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th.

Ashland Price Performance

Ashland stock opened at $58.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.19, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Ashland has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $78.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.50 and its 200-day moving average is $51.45.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 46.25%. Equities research analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after buying an additional 8,153 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 2,368 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Ashland by 4.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Ashland by 190.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 73,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,360,000 after purchasing an additional 48,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 53.3% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% 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.