Ashland Inc. (ASH) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 29th

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 14th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Sunday, December 15th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th.

Ashland has raised its dividend by an average of 10.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Ashland has a dividend payout ratio of 34.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ashland to earn $5.74 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 28.2%.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $77.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland has a twelve month low of $75.04 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.29.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.