Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $60.60 and last traded at $60.85, with a volume of 895909 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ASH. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.57.

Ashland Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.36, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.86. 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’s 50-day moving average is $71.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.95.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s payout ratio is -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 6,127.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 2,060.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,802,000 after purchasing an additional 170,859 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Ashland by 703.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after purchasing an additional 161,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 6.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after acquiring an additional 103,517 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.