StockNews.com Downgrades Ashland (NYSE:ASH) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on ASH. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.00.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $74.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland has a 52 week low of $74.00 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Ashland by 193.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Ashland during the third quarter worth $38,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 610.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.