From MarketBeat:

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) declared a quarterly dividend of 0.385 per share, yielding 1.95%, payable March 15th. Dividends have risen 10.6% annually over the last 3 years, with a payout ratio of 28.0%. Analysts expect a future $5.76 per share earnings, which will cover the $1.54 dividend. The stock was down 0.2% to $78.88 on Monday, with 551,806 shares exchanged, and a 12-month high of $110.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion and a P/E ratio of 24.07. It has a 50-day moving average price of $81.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.69.

Ashland last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.06). Ashland had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business had revenue of $518.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $528.57 million.

In related news, insider Eric N. Boni sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 7th. Several large investors have recently added or reduced their stakes in ASH.

Several brokerages have commented on ASH. UBS Group lowered their target price to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 20th. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.14.

Lastly, Ashland Inc provides additives and specialty ingredients in the North and Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and internationally.



Read more: Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.39