Standard Investments LLC Invests $107.32 Million in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Standard Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 2,240,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,318,000. Ashland accounts for 5.3% of Standard Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 3,673.3% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 59.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $50.03 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.48 and its 200 day moving average is $55.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of -3.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.42. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. Ashland had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a positive return on equity of 7.58%. The business had revenue of $386.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $401.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast 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 Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -10.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Evercore set a $62.00 target price on Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $63.00 price target on Ashland in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.67.

About Ashland

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.