BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Stock Price

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) had its price target cut by BMO Capital Markets from $92.00 to $83.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.29.

Ashland Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ASH traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 296,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,850. The company's 50-day moving average is $84.66 and its 200-day moving average is $90.60. Ashland has a 52-week low of $75.48 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $524.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Ashland's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland's payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other Ashland news, 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 directly owns 2,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 2.2% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised 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 valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 5.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Ashland by 3.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 5.4% during the third 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 last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.