Ashland Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.41 (NYSE:ASH)

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 14th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Sunday, December 15th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

Ashland has raised its dividend by an average of 10.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Ashland has a payout ratio of 34.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Ashland to earn $5.74 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.2%.

Ashland Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE ASH opened at $77.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.88. Ashland has a one year low of $75.04 and a one year high of $102.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASH. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.29.

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.