Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Wall Street analysts rate Ashland “Moderate Buy.” Seven of 12 analysts recommend buying the stock, while five rate it a hold; the average 12-month price target is $73.90.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 93.95%. Major investors including BlackRock, Ancora Advisors, Franklin Resources and Diamond Hill Capital recently established or increased positions.
• Ashland shares opened at $69.67, up 1.6%, and the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.42, equivalent to a 2.4% annual yield.

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

A number of brokerages recently commented on ASH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ashland from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth about $376,376,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 648,370.7% in the second quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,945,412 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $128,183,000 after buying an additional 1,945,112 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 13,240.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,736,173 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $101,861,000 after buying an additional 1,723,159 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $105,471,000. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at $31,799,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Up 1.6%

ASH opened at $69.67 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $71.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.60. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $47.12 and a fifty-two week high of $78.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.40.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.37%.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc NYSE: ASH is a global specialty materials company that develops and manufactures functional ingredients, additives and other products used in a range of consumer and industrial applications. Its products are designed to improve the performance, appearance, stability and processing characteristics of materials and finished goods.

The company serves markets including pharmaceuticals, personal care, coatings, construction, food and beverage, specialty chemicals and other industrial sectors.

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