Ashland Inc (NYSE:ASH) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.02, Analyst Ratings Net reports.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) traded down 2.08% during midday trading on Monday, reaching $95.68. 906,154 shares of the company were exchanged. Ashland has a 52 week low of $93.62 and a 52 week high of $132.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion and a PE ratio of 21.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $102.35 and a 200 day moving average of $108.03.

In other Ashland news, Director George A. Schaefer, Jr. sold 2,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.85, for a total transaction of $319,692.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,663.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J Kevin Willis sold 1,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.38, for a total transaction of $130,648.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,426,332.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASH shares. Deutsche Bank cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Goldman Sachs reissued a “conviction-buy” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Seaport Global Securities cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $152.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 13th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, KeyBanc cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $135.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $135.70.

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) is a specialty chemical company that provides products, services and solutions to industries. The Company’s segments are: Ashland Specialty Ingredients offers products, technologies and resources in key markets including personal and home care, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, coatings, construction, energy and other industries; Ashland Water Technologies is a supplier of specialty chemicals and services to the pulp, paper, mining, food and beverage, power generation, refining, chemical processing, general manufacturing and municipal markets. Ashland Performance Materials helps customers to create substitutes for traditional materials through higher performing, cost-efficient resin and adhesive technologies that improve the manufacturing, fabrication and design process, and Ashland Consumer Markets delivers premium-branded automotive, commercial and industrial lubricants, automotive chemicals and car-care products.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:ASH

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