Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.07), Briefing.com reports. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Ashland updated its FY 2025 guidance to EPS.

Ashland Trading Down 7.6 %

NYSE ASH traded down $6.68 during trading on Thursday, hitting $80.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,535,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,447. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.88. Ashland has a twelve month low of $71.55 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.74.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.50.

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.