Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Price Target Lowered to $93.00 at UBS Group

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its price objective decreased by UBS Group from $95.00 to $93.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ASH. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $64.29 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87. Ashland has a twelve month low of $63.93 and a twelve month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Ashland

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after buying an additional 866,320 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Ashland by 12.3% in the third 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 2,060.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,802,000 after purchasing an additional 170,859 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 703.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after purchasing an additional 161,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,131,000 after buying an additional 103,517 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.