Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $58.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ashland traded as low as $45.21 and last traded at $46.14, with a volume of 183429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.53.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.20.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 5,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Ashland by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Ashland by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -73.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $58.89 and its 200-day moving average is $71.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

About Ashland

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.