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

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.90.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASH. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ashland from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 59.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 38.0% in the 2nd 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 increased its position in shares of Ashland by 398.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE ASH opened at $72.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 63.82, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.40. Ashland has a 1 year low of $46.29 and a 1 year high of $78.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.72 and its 200 day moving average is $61.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 is currently 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.