Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $76.00 and last traded at $76.00, with a volume of 556 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ASH shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.57.

Ashland Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.99 and its 200 day moving average is $90.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is 48.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,574,000 after buying an additional 866,320 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ashland by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 616.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,875,000 after purchasing an additional 162,776 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth about $14,346,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,806,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $175,864,000 after purchasing an additional 149,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

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.