Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $70.40 and last traded at $70.48, with a volume of 18972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

Ashland Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. Ashland’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’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 owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Ashland by 1.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 547,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,772,000 after purchasing an additional 6,598 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Ashland by 7.8% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 24.4% during the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 38,188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,608,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ashland by 0.5% during the second quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 50,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,748,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.