BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Stock Price

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $92.00 to $83.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.29.

Ashland Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $79.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.41. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $75.04 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.88. 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 (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The firm had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 193.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 133.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.