Ashland Inc. (ASH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.42 on September 15th

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.42 per share by the basic materials company on Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st.

Ashland has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. Ashland has a dividend payout ratio of 35.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Ashland to earn $4.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.7%.

Ashland Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $74.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Ashland has a 1 year low of $46.29 and a 1 year high of $78.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.68 and a 200 day moving average of $61.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday, July 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.90.

Ashland Company Profile

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.