Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.1250.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ashland from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Ashland from $62.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Argus boosted their price target on Ashland from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ashland from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 284.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $172,318,000 after buying an additional 2,555,585 shares during the period. Standard Investments LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the third quarter worth about $107,318,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Ashland by 807.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,123,804 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,006 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ashland in the third quarter valued at approximately $10,397,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 353.0% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 250,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,574,000 after purchasing an additional 194,880 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE ASH opened at $63.33 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $72.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.87. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of -3.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.43.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.09). Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.25% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Ashland’s payout ratio is -9.05%.

Trending Headlines about Ashland

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders approved directors, the auditor and executive pay at Ashland’s annual meeting (≈90.94% support), reducing near‑term governance uncertainty and supporting investor confidence. Ashland Shareholders Approve Directors, Auditor and Executive Pay
• Neutral Sentiment: ICE plans to buy a 500,000 sq. ft. warehouse near Ashland for an immigration detention facility — a notable regional development but unlikely to affect Ashland Inc.’s corporate operations or near‑term earnings. ICE to purchase 500,000-square-foot warehouse near Ashland for immigration detention facility
• Neutral Sentiment: Local community and municipal items (new Grocery Outlet opening, parks & recreation director resignation, local weather and sports coverage) were reported but are not company‑specific and are unlikely to move ASH fundamentals. Examples include a new Grocery Outlet in Ashland and the parks director resignation. New Grocery Outlet Opens in Ashland with Discounts and Community Support
• Neutral Sentiment: Weather and local event coverage (winter storm tips, forecasts) could cause short, localized logistics disruptions but no direct impact on Ashland Inc.’s corporate outlook was reported. Ashland County weather forecast Friday calls for breezy and very cold

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.