Brokerages Set Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Target Price at $103.29

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.29.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at about $713,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Ashland by 2.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,492,000 after buying an additional 14,938 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Ashland by 33.0% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 429,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,727,000 after buying an additional 106,417 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,134,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,442,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Down 1.9 %

ASH stock opened at $78.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland has a 52 week low of $75.04 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.16 and a 200 day moving average of $89.36.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.36%.

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.