Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.00.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $74.12. The stock had a trading volume of 368,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,162. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland has a twelve month low of $74.00 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The business's fifty day moving average is $81.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

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

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Ashland's payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Ashland by 12.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 616.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,875,000 after acquiring an additional 162,776 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth $14,346,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 407.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $13,202,000 after acquiring an additional 112,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

About Ashland

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.