Oak Thistle LLC Raises Stake in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Oak Thistle LLC raised its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 171.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,063 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC owned about 0.07% of Ashland worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 284.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $172,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555,585 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 3.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,847,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $143,164,000 after purchasing an additional 84,086 shares during the last quarter. Cooperman Leon G lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 16.6% during the first quarter. Cooperman Leon G now owns 1,694,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,446,000 after purchasing an additional 240,686 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Ashland by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,371,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,972,000 after buying an additional 143,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Ashland by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 575,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,918,000 after buying an additional 140,957 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Up 1.7%

ASH stock opened at $59.64 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.97. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $74.57. The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.45.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.25% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. On average, research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently -9.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $62.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ashland from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Monday, September 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Ashland from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ashland from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.38.

About Ashland

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.