Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Cut to $67.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $71.00 to $67.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ASH has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on Ashland in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.60.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock opened at $48.14 on Tuesday. Ashland has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.69.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. The business had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.415 per share. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Ashland’s payout ratio is -67.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASH. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 2,736.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Ashland by 212.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Ashland by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.