By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH – Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ashland’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.45 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.36 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.60 EPS.
Several other research firms have also recently commented on ASH. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.50.
Get Our Latest Report on Ashland
Ashland Price Performance
Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $58.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland has a twelve month low of $56.46 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89.
Ashland (NYSE:ASH – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.
Ashland Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -245.45%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland
In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Ashland
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 12.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ashland by 33.1% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 3,513 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its position in Ashland by 2.2% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 610.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.
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.
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