Atlantic Investment Management Inc. Takes $7.41 Million Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Atlantic Investment Management Inc. has invested approximately $7.41 million in Ashland Inc., acquiring 125,000 shares, making it the firm's 7th largest position.
• Ashland recently reported earnings of $1.04 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates and showing a 14.9% year-over-year revenue decline.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share, yielding 3.0%, with the payout scheduled for September 15th, 2023.

Atlantic Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 125,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $7,411,000. Ashland accounts for approximately 4.1% of Atlantic Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Ashland as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASH. Eminence Capital LP increased its stake in Ashland by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $204,409,000 after acquiring an additional 212,916 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 33.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $132,383,000 after buying an additional 569,740 shares in the last quarter. Cooperman Leon G lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 16.6% during the first quarter. Cooperman Leon G now owns 1,694,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $100,446,000 after purchasing an additional 240,686 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 7.4% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,683,627 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $99,822,000 after purchasing an additional 115,811 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 48.7% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,228,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,839,000 after purchasing an additional 402,286 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.43.

Ashland Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:ASH traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $54.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 121,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,784. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.89, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.12. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $89.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $479.34 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.Ashland's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -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.