Captrust Financial Advisors Raises Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Ashland were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Ashland in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Ashland by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in Ashland by 302.4% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Ashland in the fourth quarter worth approximately $127,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.60.

Ashland Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $52.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -79.95, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.77.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -69.17%.

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.