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

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.6667.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the first quarter worth about $205,000. Dayah Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the first quarter worth about $5,561,000. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 25.8% during the first quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 42.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 32,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 9,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the first quarter worth about $255,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $63.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.70. Ashland has a 1 year low of $46.29 and a 1 year high of $68.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.61 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -10.89%.

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.