Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH – Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, January 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Saturday, March 15th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th.
Ashland has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.8% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Ashland has a payout ratio of 30.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Ashland to earn $5.29 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 30.6%.
Ashland Stock Performance
NYSE:ASH opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland has a twelve month low of $60.60 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.
Insider Activity at Ashland
In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. 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 firms have weighed in on ASH. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.57.
Read Our Latest Report on Ashland
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.
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