Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Ashland a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Seven of 12 analysts rate the stock a buy and five recommend holding it, with an average 12-month price target of $73.90.
• Recent target changes were generally positive, including UBS raising its target to $83, Deutsche Bank setting an $85 target, and JPMorgan lifting its target to $75; Wells Fargo maintained an equal-weight rating despite raising its target to $70.
• Ashland announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to $1.68 annually and a 2.3% yield. Institutional investors own approximately 93.95% of the company’s shares.

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.90.

ASH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ashland from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ashland from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH stock opened at $72.96 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $70.77 and its 200-day moving average is $62.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.39. Ashland has a twelve month low of $46.29 and a twelve month high of $78.25.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 147.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 11,039 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ashland

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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