Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.40.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday.

Ashland Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Ashland stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $54.47. 525,954 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 559,156. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.76 and a 200-day moving average of $57.75. Ashland has a 52-week low of $45.21 and a 52-week high of $98.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $514.79 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st were issued a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. This is an increase from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is currently -69.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $352,221,000 after purchasing an additional 66,530 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings in Ashland by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $204,409,000 after purchasing an additional 212,916 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 44,018 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Ashland by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $200,583,000 after purchasing an additional 208,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 33.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $132,383,000 after purchasing an additional 569,740 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.