Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Invests $575,000 in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired 9,700 shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) for approximately $575,000 in the first quarter.
• Ashland's recent earnings report showed an Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $1.04, falling short of the consensus estimate of $1.15 and reflecting a 14.9% revenue decline compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.1% and an annualized rate of $1.66.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 2,736.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised 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 during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised 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 during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.60.

Ashland Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of ASH stock traded up $2.5450 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.4350. 385,993 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 622,128. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $90.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.01, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.93.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. Ashland's revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. 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.