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

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $101.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. TheStreet raised Ashland from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ashland from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ashland from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 122.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 143.9% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE:ASH traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $94.00. 261,638 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 455,385. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.69 and a 200 day moving average of $85.38. Ashland has a 1-year low of $70.82 and a 1-year high of $105.15.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.24. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 7.62%. The company had revenue of $473.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Ashland's quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.49%.

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.