Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases 41,181 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Ashland Inc. by 10.2%, owning approximately 0.98% of the company worth nearly $26.5 million.
• Ashland recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.04 EPS, missing expectations of $1.15, with revenues down 14.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%, payable on September 15th.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 446,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,181 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.98% of Ashland worth $26,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Ashland by 212.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 2,736.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Ashland by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 285.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 1,745.8% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $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.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of Ashland stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.15. The company had a trading volume of 145,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,878. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $52.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of -3.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.21 and a 1-year high of $90.61.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The company had revenue of $463.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is -8.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

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.