Ashland Inc. $ASH Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly reduced its stake in Ashland Inc. by 87.3%, selling 9,472 shares and now holding just 1,375 shares, valued at $82,000.
• Several large investors have increased their positions in Ashland, with Tower Research Capital raising its stake by 102.2% in the last quarter.
• Ashland's stock is currently trading at $54.95 but has seen a decline of 2.1%, and the latest earnings report showed a revenue drop and EPS miss compared to analyst expectations.

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 87.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,375 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,472 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Ashland were worth $82,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Ashland by 212.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 63.9% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 285.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 1,745.8% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $54.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 397,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,930. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.10 and a 200-day moving average of $53.38. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.52.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The company had revenue of $463.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $479.34 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

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

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.