Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stock Has Average Target Price of $73.90

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.60.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ASH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $376,376,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ashland by 12.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,496,021 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $138,793,000 after buying an additional 267,741 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 648,370.7% during the second quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,945,412 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $128,183,000 after buying an additional 1,945,112 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Ashland by 13,240.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,736,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $101,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new stake in Ashland during the second quarter worth $105,471,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock opened at $70.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.05. Ashland has a 52 week low of $47.12 and a 52 week high of $78.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.37%.

Key Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: EnWave Corporation announced a royalty-bearing commercial license with Ashland Dehydrated Foods and the sale of two 10kW REV™ machines. Because the counterparty is Ashland Dehydrated Foods LLC—not publicly traded Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH)—the agreement is unlikely to have a material effect on ASH shares. EnWave Signs Royalty-Bearing Commercial License with Ashland Dehydrated Foods and Sells Two 10kW REV Machines

About Ashland

Ashland Inc (NYSE: ASH) is a global specialty materials company that develops and manufactures functional ingredients, additives and other products used in a range of consumer and industrial applications. Its products are designed to improve the performance, appearance, stability and processing characteristics of materials and finished goods.

The company serves markets including pharmaceuticals, personal care, coatings, construction, food and beverage, specialty chemicals and other industrial sectors.