Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Declares 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 paid a dividend of 0.405 per share by the basic materials company on Saturday, June 15th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39.

Ashland has increased 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 payout ratio of 28.3% meaning 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 Trading Up 0.3 %

ASH traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $97.86. The company had a trading volume of 319,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 439,224. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.15. Ashland has a 12-month low of $70.82 and a 12-month high of $99.55. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.36.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued 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 net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. TheStreet raised Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.44.

Ashland Company Profile

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.