Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Cut to $58.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.20.

Ashland Stock Up 0.3 %

Ashland stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 427,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,141. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.71.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $352,221,000 after acquiring an additional 66,530 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in Ashland by 8.0% in 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 buying an additional 212,916 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Ashland by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,695 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $201,423,000 after acquiring an additional 44,018 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ashland by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $200,583,000 after buying an additional 208,320 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ashland by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $73,074,000 after purchasing an additional 142,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

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.