Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages (2024)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 5th, 2024

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH – Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.44.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ashland

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $97.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland has a 52 week low of $70.82 and a 52 week high of $100.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $97.11 and its 200-day moving average is $90.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.15.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Ashland by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,658,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $224,118,000 after buying an additional 62,182 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,424,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,435,000 after purchasing an additional 164,468 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 9.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,806,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $175,864,000 after purchasing an additional 149,483 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Ashland by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,671,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,932,000 after purchasing an additional 256,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ashland by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 689,517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,133,000 after acquiring an additional 21,667 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ashland

(Get Free Report

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.

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