SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stake in Ashland Inc. $ASH

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 2,102.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 95,073 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Ashland worth $4,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 284.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $172,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555,585 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 353.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 250,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,574,000 after buying an additional 194,880 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 137.1% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. now owns 296,320 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,899,000 after buying an additional 171,320 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Ashland by 11.7% during the second 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 raised its stake in Ashland by 32.5% during the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Kentucky artist painted a memorial mural in Ashland honoring a West Virginia National Guard member; the piece received local coverage and community attention. Kentucky artist memorializes WV Guard member with Ashland mural
• Neutral Sentiment: Video and feature coverage of the memorial mural honoring SPC Sarah Beckstrom ran on national platforms, amplifying local interest but not tied to corporate news. Ashland artist creates memorial mural honoring Spc. Sarah Beckstrom
• Neutral Sentiment: Local road closure in Ashland is scheduled to begin Jan. 12; this is a municipal traffic update with limited commercial impact. Road closure in Ashland begins Jan. 12
• Neutral Sentiment: Another local story covers the mural honoring SPC Sarah Beckstrom from a regional news angle; community recognition and memorialization. Slain WVNG member Sarah Berkstrom honored by Ashland, KY resident
• Neutral Sentiment: Local missing-person report (19-year-old woman) in Ashland; law-enforcement/community concern story without corporate implications. 19-year-old woman missing out of Ashland, police and family concerned
• Neutral Sentiment: Authorities investigating a swatting call that targeted Ashland/Boyd County schools; public-safety coverage with no expected impact on Ashland Inc.’s business. Officials investigate swatting call targeting Ashland, Boyd County schools
• Neutral Sentiment: Ashland Centennial Ice Rink will not open this season despite construction progress; a municipal project delay with local recreational impact only. Ashland Centennial Ice Rink will not open this season despite progress
• Neutral Sentiment: Regional weather forecast for Ashland County (fog and winter conditions) — standard local weather reporting. Ashland County weather forecast Thursday calls for fog this morning
• Neutral Sentiment: Opinion/feature piece reflecting on January snow and cold in Ashland — community interest content. Ashland Speaks: The snow and cold of January
• Neutral Sentiment: Ashland Community Health Foundation distributed winter clothes to elementary students — charitable/community support story. Ashland Community Health Foundation distributes winter clothes to elementary students

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ashland from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $62.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.75.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $62.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $55.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.09. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.21 and a 52-week high of $73.31. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -3.40, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.25% and a positive return on equity of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $509.00 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current 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 $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -9.05%.

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.