Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Ashland shares gapped higher, opening at $73.00 versus the prior close of $68.01, after the company reported 7% year-over-year third-quarter sales growth to $497 million and reaffirmed its full-year sales and adjusted EBITDA guidance.
• The company returned to profitability with $16 million in net income, generated $103 million in ongoing free cash flow and reduced net leverage to 2.4 times. However, adjusted EPS slightly missed expectations, adjusted EBITDA fell 4%, and the company lowered its adjusted EPS growth outlook because of higher taxes.
• Ashland reached a cooperation agreement with activist investor Ancora, adding two independent directors and forming a capital-allocation advisory committee. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, though the $66.30 average price target is below the stock’s latest trading level.

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $68.01, but opened at $73.00. Ashland shares last traded at $70.5030, with a volume of 186,752 shares trading hands.

Key Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter sales rose 7% year over year to $497 million, while volumes increased 6% across all business units. Life Sciences sales climbed 11% to $180 million, Personal Care rose 5% to $155 million and Intermediates increased 12% to $37 million. Ashland reports third quarter 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: Ashland reported $16 million of net income versus a $742 million loss a year earlier, generated $121 million in operating cash flow and $103 million in ongoing free cash flow, and returned net leverage to its long-term target of 2.4 times.
• Positive Sentiment: The company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 sales guidance of $1.835 billion to $1.870 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $385 million to $400 million, signaling confidence in demand and expected operational improvement.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ashland reached a cooperation agreement with activist investor Ancora Holdings, appointing Peter Thomas and Allen Spizzo as independent directors and creating a Capital Allocation Advisory Committee. The changes could improve capital-allocation discipline, but also increase shareholder pressure on management. Ashland announces new directors and Ancora agreement
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted EPS was $1.02, slightly below the $1.03 consensus estimate and down from $1.04 a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA fell 4% to $109 million, with weaker Specialty Additives and Intermediates results offsetting gains in Life Sciences and Personal Care.
• Negative Sentiment: Ashland reduced its adjusted EPS growth outlook to low-to-mid-single-digit growth from mid-to-high-single-digit growth, citing a higher tax rate and unfavorable discrete tax items. This guidance cut is likely the main source of pressure on ASH, even though sales and EBITDA targets were maintained.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Ashland from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ashland from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ashland from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $77.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.30.

Ashland Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $63.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 8.06% and a negative net margin of 39.03%.The firm had revenue of $482.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -10.89%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,215 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Ashland by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 11,039 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 6.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 59.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 11.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,457 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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