Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $58.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ashland traded as low as $45.21 and last traded at $46.14, with a volume of 183429 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.53.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ASH. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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 downgraded Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 62,666.7% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,766 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 3,760 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Ashland by 1.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 36,943 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 25.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 323.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,236,000 after buying an additional 54,745 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ashland by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Up 9.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.71.

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

Ashland Announces Dividend

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 $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -245.45%.

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.