Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $70.40 and last traded at $70.48, with a volume of 18972 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

Ashland Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $76,574,000 after buying an additional 866,320 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 616.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,875,000 after acquiring an additional 162,776 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 407.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,202,000 after purchasing an additional 112,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 6.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,131,000 after purchasing an additional 103,517 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.