Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.50.

Several research firms have commented on ASH. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Ashland Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $85.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.96. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $70.82 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ashland by 9.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,314,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $218,686,000 after acquiring an additional 198,913 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 616.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,875,000 after purchasing an additional 162,776 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth approximately $14,346,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 9.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,806,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $175,864,000 after purchasing an additional 149,483 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 407.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,202,000 after purchasing an additional 112,169 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.