Ashland Inc. $ASH Stock Holdings Lowered by Newport Trust Company LLC

Newport Trust Company LLC lowered its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 492,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 26,311 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $28,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 3,673.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. 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 during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $56.35 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.29 and a twelve month high of $65.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.65, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.08.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $482.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Ashland’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently -10.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore set a $62.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.78.

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.