1832 Asset Management L.P. Boosts Stock Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 11.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,371,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 143,230 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $68,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 39,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 8,153 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Ashland by 44.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 2,368 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ashland by 4.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 190.9% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 73,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,360,000 after buying an additional 48,266 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH stock opened at $58.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $78.75. The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $50.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.36.

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

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Ashland from $62.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ashland in a report on Monday, September 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Argus dropped their price objective on Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.13.

Ashland Company Profile

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.