Caxton Associates LLP Buys Shares of 5,982 Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired 5,982 shares of Ashland Inc. valued at approximately $355,000, highlighting interest from institutional investors in the company.
• Ashland Inc. reported a loss in earnings per share for the last quarter, posting $1.04, which missed analysts' expectations of $1.15, alongside a revenue drop of 14.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.415, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%, amid a high institutional ownership rate of 93.95%.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the first quarter worth approximately $694,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 1.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 387,132 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,953,000 after purchasing an additional 6,245 shares during the last quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA grew its stake in Ashland by 180.4% in the 1st quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA now owns 18,351 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 11,807 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the 1st quarter valued at $4,703,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 49.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 284,454 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,865,000 after purchasing an additional 94,067 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Argus reduced their price objective on Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.43.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE ASH traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $51.79. 618,475 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 419,966. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.65. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $89.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.52.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $479.34 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Ashland's payout ratio is presently -8.86%.

About Ashland

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.