Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Declares $0.41 Quarterly Dividend

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 14th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Sunday, December 15th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

Ashland has increased its dividend by an average of 10.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Ashland has a dividend payout ratio of 34.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Ashland to earn $5.74 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.2%.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH opened at $78.31 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.87 and a 200-day moving average of $89.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. Ashland has a 52-week low of $75.04 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.29.

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.