Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.41

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Saturday, March 15th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th.

Ashland has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.8% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Ashland has a payout ratio of 30.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Ashland to earn $5.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.5%.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.23. The stock had a trading volume of 488,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 477,430. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87. Ashland has a twelve month low of $68.14 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.14.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Ashland’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

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

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.