Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $103.50.

ASH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ashland by 122.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 143.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 809 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ashland by 8,211.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:ASH traded up $1.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $86.70. The stock had a trading volume of 447,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,399. The business's 50 day moving average is $90.02 and its 200-day moving average is $94.32. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88. Ashland has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.97%.

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.