Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Holdings Raised by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP boosted its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 79.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,557 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,113 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 143.9% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 163.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE ASH traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $94.79. 143,819 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 410,601. The firm has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $97.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.82 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently 42.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.88.

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.