Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Hits New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $69.00 and last traded at $69.54, with a volume of 14948 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.00.

Ashland Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $75.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.45.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business 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%. Ashland's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.36%.

Insider Activity at Ashland

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in Ashland by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,104 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in Ashland by 3.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.