11,712 Shares in Ashland Inc. $ASH Acquired by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired 11,712 shares of Ashland Inc., valued at approximately $694,000, during the 1st quarter.
• Ashland reported a $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing estimates and marking a 14.9% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share, translating to a 3.0% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of -8.86%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,712 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $694,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 2,736.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew 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 purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Ashland by 63.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Ashland by 285.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Ashland by 1,745.8% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $54.67 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.98. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $89.09. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $463.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.43.

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.

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