Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Plans $0.41 Quarterly Dividend

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Saturday, March 15th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Ashland has increased its dividend by an average of 10.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Ashland has a payout ratio of 30.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Ashland to earn $5.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.5%.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock traded up $1.80 on Tuesday, hitting $73.23. The company had a trading volume of 488,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 477,430. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland has a twelve month low of $68.14 and a twelve month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASH has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc provides additives and specialty ingredients in the North and Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Life Sciences, Personal Care, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates segments. The Life Sciences segment offers pharmaceutical solutions, including controlled release polymers, disintegrants, tablet coatings, thickeners, solubilizers, and tablet binders; nutrition solutions, such as thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and additives; and nutraceutical solutions comprising products for weight management, joint comfort, stomach and intestinal health, sports nutrition, and general wellness, as well as custom formulation, toll processing, and particle engineering solutions.