Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASHGet Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $102.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ASH. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

View Our Latest Analysis on ASH

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Ashland in the second quarter worth $251,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Ashland by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 99,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,428,000 after purchasing an additional 22,280 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Ashland by 65.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Ashland by 1.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 547,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,772,000 after buying an additional 6,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 15.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $71.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.60 and its 200 day moving average is $86.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland has a 1-year low of $70.67 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ashland (NYSE:ASHGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

About Ashland

(Get Free Report

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Ashland (NYSE:ASH)

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