Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ASH. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Mizuho cut their price target on Ashland from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their price target on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.57.

Ashland Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:ASH opened at $49.03 on Friday. Ashland has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $88.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.62, a PEG ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.34 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st were paid a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -8.86%.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Ashland by 59.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Ashland by 212.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 2,736.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management bought a new stake in Ashland in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Ashland by 63.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

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.