Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Sets New 1-Year Low After Insider Selling

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $74.89 and last traded at $75.16, with a volume of 30181 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.28.

Specifically, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.29.

Ashland Trading Down 1.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $82.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.57. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in Ashland by 2.2% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in Ashland by 5.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Ashland by 3.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 5.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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.