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

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.60.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Abound Wealth Management bought a new position in Ashland during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 2,736.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 212.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 63.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 285.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $52.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.49. Ashland has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $90.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The company had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8.86%.

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.