Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.38), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $996.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $501.76 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 2.82%.

Ashland Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of ASH traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.97. The company had a trading volume of 896,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 766,982. Ashland has a 1-year low of $47.12 and a 1-year high of $78.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 64.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.10.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc is a global specialty materials company that develops and supplies functional ingredients, additives and solutions for industrial and consumer markets. Its products are used to enhance the performance, stability, texture, appearance and processing of finished goods.

The company serves a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, personal care, coatings, construction, food and beverages, adhesives and specialty chemicals. Its portfolio includes polymers, cellulose-based ingredients, rheology modifiers, film-forming agents, preservatives and other specialty additives used in applications such as drug delivery, skin and hair care, architectural coatings and building materials.

Ashland traces its roots to 1924, when it was established as Ashland Refining Company in Kentucky.