Magnetar Financial LLC Buys Shares of 70,868 Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake of 70,868 shares in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during Q3, valued at roughly $3.395 million and representing about 0.16% of the company.
• Ashland declared a quarterly dividend of $0.415 (annualized $1.66), implying a ~3.2% yield; the ex-dividend date is Feb. 27, the record date Mar. 1, and the payment date Mar. 15.
• Short interest climbed about 19.1% in February to 5,023,447 shares (≈11.1% of shares outstanding) with roughly 6.2 days to cover, raising downside pressure and potential squeeze risk.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 70,868 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,395,000. Magnetar Financial LLC owned about 0.16% of Ashland as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 3,673.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 566 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Ashland by 59.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ashland in the third quarter worth $53,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the third quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth $62,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $52.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The firm's 50-day moving average is $61.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.48, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.42.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. Ashland had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a positive return on equity of 7.58%. The business had revenue of $386.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $401.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Ashland's payout ratio is -10.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ASH. Evercore set a $62.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ashland from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $63.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.67.

Key Stories Impacting Ashland

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Local sports coverage about Ashland athlete Gary George being offered training with Macclesfield F.C.; not related to Ashland Inc. Ashland's Gary George offered opportunity to train with Macclesfield FC
• Neutral Sentiment: Duplicate local coverage: Ashland’s Gary George presented opportunity to train with Macclesfield F.C.; also unrelated to ASH the company. Ashland's George offered opportunity to train with Macclesfield F.C.
• Neutral Sentiment: Local controversy over Ashland’s “Bee City” pesticide plan — civic/environmental story with no direct impact on Ashland Inc.’s business. Ashland’s ‘Bee City’ title questioned amid pesticide plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Ashland University received a record $15M gift for dorm renovations — a university fundraising story, not tied to Ashland Inc.’s operations. Ashland University receives record $15 million for dorm renovations
• Neutral Sentiment: Related coverage on the same $15M gift and dorm overhaul at Ashland University. Ashland University lands record $15M gift for historic dorm overhaul
• Neutral Sentiment: Applications opened for a local Walker Scholarship in Ashland, MA — community news, not company-related. Applications open in Ashland MA for Walker Scholarship. How to apply
• Neutral Sentiment: Local education story: Ashland teachers received grants for innovative projects — civic interest, no expected effect on ASH. Ashland teachers receive grants for innovative projects
• Neutral Sentiment: Event notice: ALYAC Fest in Ashland (arts/cartoonists) — local events coverage. Join young artists and top cartoonists at second ALYAC Fest in Ashland
• Neutral Sentiment: Local weather forecast and a college basketball recap (Lake Erie vs. Ashland) — sports/weather items with no direct link to Ashland Inc.’s financials. Ashland County weather forecast Tuesday calls for a t-storm around in the p.m. Lake Erie men's basketball rallies in second half, defeats Ashland
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest in Ashland rose sharply in February: shorted shares climbed ~19.1% to 5,023,447 (about 11.1% of shares outstanding) and the days-to-cover is roughly 6.2 — this increase in bearish positioning can pressure the share price and amplify downside on bad news (it also raises squeeze risk during any positive catalyst). (Source: short-interest update published 3/10/2026)

Ashland Company Profile

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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