Ashland Inc. $ASH Shares Acquired by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 308,628 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,288 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.67% of Ashland worth $17,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $105,668,000 after purchasing an additional 345,919 shares in the last quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at $10,342,000. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Ashland during the 4th quarter worth about $9,974,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 346.6% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 83,712 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,911,000 after buying an additional 64,968 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Activist settlement fuels strategic-action speculation. Ashland agreed to cooperate with Ancora Holdings, which has urged the specialty-chemicals company to consider strategic alternatives, including a potential sale. The agreement includes two independent directors and a Capital Allocation Advisory Committee, increasing expectations that Ashland could pursue measures to unlock shareholder value. A second activist, Cruiser Capital, has also advocated exploring a sale. Ashland announces appointment of two new directors as part of Cooperation Agreement with stockholder Ancora
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and volumes exceeded expectations. Fiscal Q3 sales rose 7% year over year to $497 million, above consensus, while sales volumes increased 6% across all business units. Life Sciences sales grew 11% to $180 million, Personal Care increased 5% to $155 million, and Intermediates rose 12% to $37 million. Ashland reports third quarter 2026 results and reaffirms outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation and full-year targets remain intact. Operating cash flow reached $121 million and ongoing free cash flow was $103 million. Ashland reaffirmed fiscal 2026 sales guidance of $1.835 billion to $1.870 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $385 million to $400 million.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment has improved. Following strong prior-quarter results, analysts maintained favorable ratings and raised some price targets, including targets of $72 and $75. However, the six-analyst median target of $63.50 is below recent trading levels, suggesting expectations are already elevated. Ashland Analysts Increase Their Forecasts After Strong Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability remains a concern. Adjusted EPS of $1.02 narrowly missed consensus, adjusted EBITDA declined 4% to $109 million, and Ashland reduced its adjusted EPS growth outlook to low-to-mid-single-digit growth from mid-to-high-single-digit growth because of a higher tax rate. Specialty Additives and Intermediates earnings also fell.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH stock opened at $73.20 on Thursday. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.29 and a 12 month high of $74.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.02. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.61 million. Ashland had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 8.01%. Ashland's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -10.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASH shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.30.

About Ashland

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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