Ashland Inc. (ASH) stock analysis

P/E against its history

Not enough price and earnings history to compare.

P/E against the industry

Needs positive earnings and enough profitable companies in the industry.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

Ashland's EV/EBITDA of 13.6 is below its 5-year median of 14.1.

P/B above the industry

Ashland's price-to-book of 1.88 is above the Wholesale Trade-non-durable Goods median of 1.69.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $76.72 is above our fair value estimate of $61.27.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 25.2% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew -8.6% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growth over 3 years

Needs positive EPS three years ago and today.

Earnings acceleration

Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew -1.4% over the last twelve months; the Wholesale Trade-non-durable Goods median is 3.8%.

Guidance lowered

Ashland lowered its full-year fiscal 2026 Sales outlook on Apr 28, 2026.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 31.5% over the last twelve months, against 30.2% a year earlier.

Return on equity

Needs positive equity and five years of results.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 2.8%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity against the industry

Needs positive equity.

Earnings over 5 years

Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

Net margin against its history

Needs five years of revenue and net income.

Net margin against the industry

Needs revenue and net income.

High debt

Debt is 73.5% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt rising against equity

Debt to equity rose from 61.0% five years ago to 73.5%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 24.4% of total debt.

Interest coverage

Interest expense is not reported separately.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 3.05 times current liabilities.

Elevated bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 1.51; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Ashland paid dividends worth 2.2% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 2.2% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Ashland yields 2.2%.

Dividend was cut

The dividend per share fell by more than 10% at least once in the last 10 fiscal years.

Earnings cover

Needs dividends paid and net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 30.4% of free cash flow.