Brokerages Set Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) PT at $68.60

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.60.

Several analysts have recently commented on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Ashland Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of ASH stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.66. 565,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 548,866. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.52. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $98.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.20.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -69.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 226.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 899,061 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $53,009,000 after acquiring an additional 623,601 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $132,383,000 after acquiring an additional 569,740 shares in the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 172.5% during the 4th quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,934,000 after acquiring an additional 424,595 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at $28,943,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Ashland by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,228,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $72,839,000 after acquiring an additional 402,286 shares in the last quarter. 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.