Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives $73.90 Average Price Target from Analysts

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.90.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thames Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,342,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ashland by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,668,000 after purchasing an additional 345,919 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Ashland during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,974,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 7.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 308,628 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,163,000 after buying an additional 22,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 648,370.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,945,412 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $128,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,945,112 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH stock opened at $69.60 on Tuesday. Ashland has a twelve month low of $46.29 and a twelve month high of $78.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.21 and its 200-day moving average is $62.46.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is 147.37%.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc (NYSE:ASH) is a global specialty materials company that develops and manufactures additives, ingredients and performance solutions for a range of consumer and industrial applications. Its products are designed to improve the performance, stability, texture and functionality of products made by customers in industries such as pharmaceuticals, personal care, coatings, construction, adhesives and specialty chemicals.

The company’s portfolio includes cellulose-based and synthetic polymers, vinyl pyrrolidone-based products, specialty additives, pharmaceutical excipients, personal care ingredients and water-based technologies.