Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Stock Rating Lowered by Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ashland’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.20 EPS.

ASH has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.50.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH opened at $59.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of -90.12, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. Ashland has a twelve month low of $56.46 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after acquiring an additional 866,320 shares during the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 172.5% in the fourth quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,934,000 after acquiring an additional 424,595 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,943,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after acquiring an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in Ashland by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,409,000 after buying an additional 212,916 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.