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

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Saturday, June 15th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39.

Ashland has raised its dividend by an average of 10.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Ashland has a dividend payout ratio of 28.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ashland to earn $5.59 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 29.0%.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH traded up $0.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $98.07. The stock had a trading volume of 226,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 438,088. Ashland has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $99.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.36.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ashland in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TheStreet raised shares of Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.44.

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.