Short Interest in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Decreases By 9.7%

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) was the target of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a drop of 9.7% from the October 15th total of 1,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 437,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Ashland by 193.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 610.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 133.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ASH opened at $77.04 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.73. Ashland has a 52 week low of $76.33 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.57.

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.