Duality Advisers LP Increases Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Duality Advisers LP lifted its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 79.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,557 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,113 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 122.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 143.9% in the fourth 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 position in shares of Ashland by 163.7% in the fourth 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 bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Up 0.1 %

ASH stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $94.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 143,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,601. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.15. The firm has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.05. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.82 and a 12-month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.88.

Ashland 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.