Comerica Bank Purchases 64,968 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Comerica Bank boosted its position in Ashland by 346.6% in Q4, buying 64,968 shares to hold 83,712 shares (about 0.18% of the company) worth roughly $4.91 million.
• Ashland's latest quarter showed a missed EPS of $0.91 versus $0.97 expected and a negative net margin of 39.03%, on revenue of $964 million.
• Shares are down about 2.9%, the stock trades near $51.73 with a $2.37 billion market cap, and analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $63.33 after several target cuts.

Comerica Bank lifted its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 346.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,712 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 64,968 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned about 0.18% of Ashland worth $4,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Ashland by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 182,267 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,732,000 after acquiring an additional 61,673 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,067,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,397,000. Standard Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $107,318,000. Finally, Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC now owns 199,376 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,552,000 after acquiring an additional 57,402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $63.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.33.

Ashland Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $51.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of -3.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.29 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The firm's 50-day moving average is $55.70 and its 200-day moving average is $56.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $964.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.61 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

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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