Seaport Res Ptn Comments on Ashland’s Q2 Earnings (NYSE:ASH)

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for Ashland in a research report issued on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $1.27 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.26. The consensus estimate for Ashland’s current full-year earnings is $4.33 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ashland’s FY2025 earnings at $4.42 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.87 EPS.

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). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis.

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

Ashland Price Performance

Ashland stock opened at $70.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.91. Ashland has a 12 month low of $68.14 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

Insider Activity at Ashland

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 transaction of $35,209.57. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ashland by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Ashland by 5.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 87,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,278,000 after buying an additional 4,189 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Ashland by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 15,003 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at about $194,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.