Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.90.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ashland from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 59.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the second quarter worth $35,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ashland during the third quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 38.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 398.3% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $73.52 on Friday. Ashland has a 12 month low of $46.29 and a 12 month high of $78.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.05. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.49, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently 147.37%.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.