Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $74.10 According to Brokerages

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.10.

ASH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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 lifted their price objective on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday, July 27th.

Ashland News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sales rose 4% year over year to $498 million, while sales volumes increased 3%, led by Life Sciences and Personal Care. Adjusted EBITDA grew 2% to $121 million, and operating cash flow was $90 million, including $74 million of ongoing free cash flow. Ashland fiscal 2026 results and fiscal 2027 outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: For fiscal 2027, Ashland forecast sales of $1.905 billion to $1.975 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $405 million to $435 million. The outlook gives investors a benchmark for recovery, but the articles do not indicate how it compares with market expectations. Ashland swings to Q4 net loss; issues FY27 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $1.12 per share, below analysts’ estimates of about $1.27, despite improving from $1.08 a year earlier. Ashland also recorded a $16 million net loss, and lower Specialty Additives earnings—including a reported Hopewell-related drag—dampened results. Ashland Q4 2026: Hopewell drag, a GAAP loss, and 2027 guidance

Institutional Trading of Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Ashland in the second quarter valued at approximately $376,376,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 648,370.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new stake in Ashland during the second quarter worth approximately $105,471,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,256,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth $21,943,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $72.97 on Wednesday. Ashland has a 12 month low of $47.12 and a 12 month high of $78.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.49 and a 200-day moving average of $63.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.36.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.15). Ashland had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 2.82%. The company had revenue of $996.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $501.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ashland will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

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

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.