Ashland Inc. $ASH Holdings Lowered by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,540,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 70,994 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Ashland worth $266,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 3,673.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ASH shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Evercore set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.78.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $55.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.67. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.29 and a 52 week high of $65.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -3.57, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 3.06.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 8.06% and a negative net margin of 39.03%.The business had revenue of $964.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -10.77%.

Key Stories Impacting Ashland

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating claims on behalf of investors in Ashland Inc. (ASH), which can add uncertainty and weigh on the shares. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of Ashland Inc. – ASH
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Ashland Inc. (ASH) from “hold” to “strong sell,” signaling a more cautious view that could contribute to downside pressure. Zacks.com

Ashland Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.