Brokerages Set Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Target Price at $95.57

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.57.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % 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 Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ashland by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $352,221,000 after buying an additional 66,530 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 208,320 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 6.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after purchasing an additional 103,517 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $64.02 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland has a twelve month low of $60.60 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.20 and its 200-day moving average is $79.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -97.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -245.45%.

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.