Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires New Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital acquired 244,439 Ashland shares worth approximately $13.6 million, giving it a 0.53% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 93.95% of the company.
• Ashland reported quarterly earnings of $0.91 per share, below the $0.97 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 0.6% year over year to $482 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share, representing a 2.3% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $71.90.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 244,439 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $13,593,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.53% of Ashland at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Ashland by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Ashland by 398.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in Ashland by 535.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,348 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH opened at $72.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.65, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.29 and a 12-month high of $74.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $64.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.18.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Ashland had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The firm had revenue of $482.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ashland's payout ratio is currently 147.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ashland from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.90.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.

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