4,937 Shares in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Acquired by Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC

Key Points

• Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC has acquired 4,937 shares of Ashland Inc., valued at approximately $293,000, marking a new position in the company during the first quarter.
• Ashland's stock has recently reported a 1.3% decline and has seen significant fluctuations with a 52-week range from $45.21 to $90.61.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.2%, despite a negative payout ratio of -8.86%.

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,937 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 276.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Ashland by 33.5% during the first 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 during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ashland during the first quarter valued at $273,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 148,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,607,000 after purchasing an additional 22,600 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Ashland by 13.3% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,012 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.60.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH traded down $0.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $54.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 393,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 663,821. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.21 and a twelve month high of $90.61. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $51.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.49.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The business had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -8.86%.

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.