Analysts Set Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Price Target at $85.40

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.40.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $80.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Shapiro Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ashland by 172.5% during the fourth quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,934,000 after buying an additional 424,595 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth $28,943,000. Eminence Capital LP grew its position in shares of Ashland by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,409,000 after acquiring an additional 212,916 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $200,583,000 after purchasing an additional 208,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 577,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,247,000 after purchasing an additional 184,954 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $49.08 on Tuesday. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $47.29 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.56. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of -74.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

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.