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

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)’s share price hit 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $76.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered 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 on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.57.

Ashland Stock Down 1.2 %

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

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Ashland by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.