Ashland Inc. (ASH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.42 on December 15th

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share by the basic materials company on Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st.

Ashland has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. Ashland has a dividend payout ratio of 35.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ashland to earn $4.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.9%.

Ashland Trading Down 1.6%

Ashland stock opened at $75.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 943.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.36. Ashland has a 1 year low of $48.00 and a 1 year high of $79.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $71.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.96.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $996.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $501.76 million. Ashland had a net margin of 0.21% and a return on equity of 8.17%. Ashland’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc. is a specialty chemicals company that develops and supplies ingredients and additives for businesses across a range of industries. Its products include pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients, personal care ingredients, and specialty additives used in coatings, construction materials and other applications. The company traces its roots to 1924, when it was established as Ashland Refining Company in Kentucky. Over time, Ashland shifted from its origins in oil refining toward specialty chemicals and ingredients.