Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $107.88.

Ashland Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $96.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.90. Ashland has a 52 week low of $70.82 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.02.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.64 million. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. Ashland’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.97%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Ashland by 1.2% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 6,598 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 65.4% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 28.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 99,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,428,000 after buying an additional 22,280 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,423,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $251,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.