Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $67.27 and last traded at $67.1190, with a volume of 139054 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Ashland Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.35, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.43.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -10.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.8% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 11,039 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 4,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 4.6% during the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 4,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 6.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Company Profile

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.