Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $102.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $67,617.20. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ashland by 6,127.2% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after buying an additional 866,320 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Ashland by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 616.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,875,000 after buying an additional 162,776 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth $14,346,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 407.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,202,000 after buying an additional 112,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Up 0.6 %

ASH opened at $72.14 on Friday. Ashland has a one year low of $70.67 and a one year high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $78.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.36%.

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.