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

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $93.50.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Up 0.0 %

ASH opened at $57.37 on Friday. Ashland has a twelve month low of $56.08 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.95 and a 200-day moving average of $76.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of -86.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -245.45%.

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.