Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in Ashland Inc. by 6.5%, selling 182,828 shares and retaining approximately 5.77% ownership valued at $156.28 million.
• Ashland's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.04, falling short of the consensus estimate by $0.11, and revenue decreased by 14.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.415, with a dividend yield of 3.1%, to be paid on September 15th to stockholders of record as of September 1st.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,635,867 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 182,828 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.77% of Ashland worth $156,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ASH. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,422 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,675,000 after buying an additional 21,733 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $665,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,157,000. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,042 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Trading Down 1.1%

ASH stock traded down $0.5950 during trading on Monday, reaching $55.9650. The company had a trading volume of 148,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,676. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $90.61. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.99, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.02 and a 200 day moving average of $53.78. 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 (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $463.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.34 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. Ashland's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.60.

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.