Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $53.41 and last traded at $53.67, with a volume of 109496 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASH. UBS Group reduced 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. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.40.

Ashland Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52.

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 period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Ashland’s payout ratio is -245.45%.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 5,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in Ashland by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.