Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $68.32 and last traded at $68.2290, with a volume of 20066 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASH. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.78.

Ashland Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of -4.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $482.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.61 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 8.06% and a negative net margin of 39.03%.Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -10.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Standard Investments LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the third quarter worth about $107,318,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,668,000 after acquiring an additional 345,919 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,167,000. Thames Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,342,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 126.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 225,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,250,000 after acquiring an additional 126,238 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Company Profile

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.