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

Key Points

• Ashland has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 12 analysts, with seven buy ratings and five holds; the average 12-month price target is $73.90.
• Institutional investors own approximately 93.95% of Ashland’s shares, with several firms recently increasing or initiating positions.
• Ashland shares opened at $73.33, up significantly from their 200-day moving average of $60.81, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 2.3% yield.

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.90.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ASH shares. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ashland from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Ashland during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 38.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 398.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Stock Down 1.9%

ASH stock opened at $73.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.81. Ashland has a 1-year low of $46.29 and a 1-year high of $78.25.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland's payout ratio is currently 147.37%.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source