Ashland Global Holdings Inc.’s (NYSE:ASH) board has increased the quarterly cash dividend to 25 cents per share, up 11% from the previous payout. The dividend is payable Jun 15, 2018, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Jun 1.
The company had roughly 62.4 million shares outstanding on Apr 30. Notably, Ashland ended the second quarter of fiscal 2018 with cash and cash equivalents of $225 million compared with $605 million recorded a year ago.
The stock has gained 9.6% in the past three months, outperforming the industry’s 2.6% rise.
Ashland reported net profit of $73 million or $1.15 per share in second-quarter fiscal 2018 compared with net income of $92 million or $1.47. Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings came in at $1.06 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 84 cents.
The company raised its adjusted earnings guidance for fiscal 2018 to $3.30-$3.50 per share, up from $2.90-$3.10 expected earlier. It expects to generate free cash flows of more than $220 million in fiscal 2018, which remains unchanged from the prior guidance.
Ashland projects adjusted earnings in the range of 95 cents to $1.05 per share for third-quarter fiscal 2018.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Ashland currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include The Chemours Company (NYSE:CC) , Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) and Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Chemours has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 15.5%. Its shares have gained 21.7% in a year.
Westlake Chemical has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 12.2%. Its shares have rallied 96.2% in a year.
Huntsman has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 8.3%. Its shares have moved up 29.4% in a year.
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Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (ASH): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Chemours Company (The) (CC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK): Get Free Report
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