Seaport Res Ptn Has Negative View of Ashland FY2025 Earnings

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) – Seaport Res Ptn cut their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ashland in a report issued on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $4.48 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.70. The consensus estimate for Ashland’s current full-year earnings is $4.52 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ashland’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.94 EPS.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH opened at $74.78 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland has a 52-week low of $72.83 and a 52-week high of $102.50.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Ashland news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ashland by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,773,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,037,000 after buying an additional 86,977 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Ashland by 12.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000,000 after acquiring an additional 284,215 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $151,131,000 after acquiring an additional 103,517 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 6,127.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.