Brokerages Set Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Price Target at $67.40

Key Points

• Ashland Inc. has received an average rating of "Hold" from five research firms, with three hold ratings and two buy ratings noted.
• The company's latest earnings report showed $1.04 earnings per share, below the expected $1.15, and a significant 14.9% decrease in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• Ashland recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.415 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%.

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.40.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ASH. UBS Group cut their price target on Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on Ashland in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st.

Ashland Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE ASH traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $52.14. The company had a trading volume of 824,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 555,294. Ashland has a 1-year low of $45.21 and a 1-year high of $91.47. The firm's 50 day moving average is $51.21 and its 200-day moving average is $55.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.49.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The business had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eminence Capital LP lifted its stake in Ashland by 8.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 212,916 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,695 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,423,000 after acquiring an additional 44,018 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $132,383,000 after acquiring an additional 569,740 shares during the last quarter. Cooperman Leon G raised its stake in Ashland by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Cooperman Leon G now owns 1,694,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $100,446,000 after acquiring an additional 240,686 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 7.4% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,683,627 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $99,822,000 after purchasing an additional 115,811 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

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.