Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for Ashland Q3 Earnings

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn cut their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Ashland in a research report issued on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings of $1.44 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.47. The consensus estimate for Ashland’s current full-year earnings is $4.33 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ashland’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.48 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.00.

Ashland Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $71.94 on Friday. Ashland has a 1-year low of $68.14 and a 1-year high of $102.50. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.74 and a 200-day moving average of $82.84.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Ashland by 70.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 2,060.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,802,000 after acquiring an additional 170,859 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 703.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after acquiring an additional 161,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 18,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

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.