Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.1250.

Several research firms recently issued reports on ASH. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Ashland from $62.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ashland from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th.

More Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders approved directors, the auditor and executive pay at Ashland’s annual meeting (≈90.94% support), reducing near‑term governance uncertainty and supporting investor confidence. Ashland Shareholders Approve Directors, Auditor and Executive Pay
• Neutral Sentiment: ICE plans to buy a 500,000 sq. ft. warehouse near Ashland for an immigration detention facility — a notable regional development but unlikely to affect Ashland Inc.’s corporate operations or near‑term earnings. ICE to purchase 500,000-square-foot warehouse near Ashland for immigration detention facility
• Neutral Sentiment: Local community and municipal items (new Grocery Outlet opening, parks & recreation director resignation, local weather and sports coverage) were reported but are not company‑specific and are unlikely to move ASH fundamentals. Examples include a new Grocery Outlet in Ashland and the parks director resignation. New Grocery Outlet Opens in Ashland with Discounts and Community Support
• Neutral Sentiment: Weather and local event coverage (winter storm tips, forecasts) could cause short, localized logistics disruptions but no direct impact on Ashland Inc.’s corporate outlook was reported. Ashland County weather forecast Friday calls for breezy and very cold

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter worth $268,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,850 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 126.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 225,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,250,000 after purchasing an additional 126,238 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at about $423,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 4,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

Ashland stock opened at $63.33 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.87. Ashland has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $72.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.45, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.09). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 46.25%.The business had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 Sunday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -9.05%.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.