Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 76,317 Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired 76,317 shares of Ashland Inc. valued at approximately $4.5 million, representing a 0.17% ownership in the company.
• A number of institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Ashland, with AQR Capital Management raising its stake by 226.4% in the same quarter.
• Ashland announced a quarterly dividend of $0.415, translating to an annualized yield of 3.0%, with an ex-dividend date set for August 29.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 76,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $4,525,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Ashland as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 20.0% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,815 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 63.9% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 4.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,440 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 33.5% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday, September 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.43.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of Ashland stock traded down $1.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $52.89. The company had a trading volume of 344,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,746. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.78. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.21 and a 1-year high of $89.09.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The business'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 earned $1.49 EPS. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.86%.

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.