Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target to $69.00

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $80.00 to $69.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.40.

Ashland Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $58.99 on Thursday. Ashland has a 1-year low of $54.86 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $62.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.63. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of -89.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the third quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Ashland by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.