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. Investors 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 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th.

Ashland has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Ashland has a dividend payout ratio of 33.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 Trading Down 1.4 %

ASH traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.96. 287,372 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 422,497. Ashland has a 52 week low of $75.90 and a 52 week high of $102.50. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $85.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. Ashland’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ASH. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Three equities 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.57.

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.