Allworth Financial LP Buys 325 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 63.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Ashland were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASH. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Ashland by 212.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 2,736.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Ashland by 285.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Ashland by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Ashland by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

Ashland stock opened at $51.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.51. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $98.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.82.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The business had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.415 per share. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently -69.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.40.

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.