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

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.60.

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

Ashland Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Ashland stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 507,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,703. Ashland has a 1-year low of $45.21 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.69, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.22.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. The business had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $514.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Ashland's payout ratio is -69.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASH. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,964,000 after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 171,636 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,265,000 after buying an additional 39,392 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 148,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,607,000 after acquiring an additional 22,600 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 323.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,689 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,236,000 after acquiring an additional 54,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $73,074,000 after acquiring an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

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.