StockNews.com Downgrades Ashland (NYSE:ASH) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.57.

Ashland Trading Up 1.4 %

ASH stock opened at $65.18 on Thursday. Ashland has a 1-year low of $60.60 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.38 and its 200-day moving average is $80.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -98.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ashland during the fourth quarter worth about $28,943,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Ashland by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after buying an additional 284,215 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 2,060.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,802,000 after acquiring an additional 170,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position 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 valued at $13,206,000 after acquiring an additional 161,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

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.