Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.51 EPS

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51), RTT News reports. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Ashland updated its FY 2025 guidance to EPS.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $71.00. The stock had a trading volume of 583,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,789. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.38. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $68.14 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

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.