Ashland Inc. $ASH Shares Sold by Newport Trust Company LLC

Key Points

• Newport Trust Company LLC reduced its stake in Ashland Inc. by 1.8%, owning 526,625 shares worth approximately $31.22 million as of the latest quarter.
• Ashland's most recent earnings report indicated an EPS of $1.04, missing consensus estimates and marking a 14.9% revenue decline year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.415 per share, with a yield of 3.1%, to be paid on September 15th.

Newport Trust Company LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 526,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,868 shares during the quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC owned 1.15% of Ashland worth $31,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 2,736.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 212.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 285.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 1,745.8% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports 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 report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.50.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH traded up $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $56.32. The stock had a trading volume of 92,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 647,605. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $90.61. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $52.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.75. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.49.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The company had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. 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.