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

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

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

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $50.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of -76.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. Ashland has a 1-year low of $45.21 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $58.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.82.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 105.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 119,135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after buying an additional 61,058 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,964,000 after acquiring an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 66.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 169,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,752,000 after acquiring an additional 67,980 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 703.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after acquiring an additional 161,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 171,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,265,000 after acquiring an additional 39,392 shares during 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.