Penn Capital Management Company LLC Sells 33,618 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Penn Capital Management cut its Ashland stake by 70.7% in the second quarter, selling 33,618 shares and retaining 13,947 shares valued at approximately $919,000.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Ashland, with seven Buy ratings and five Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $73.90.
• Ashland was trading at $74.21 and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a $1.68 annualized payout and a 2.3% yield.

Penn Capital Management Company LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,947 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 33,618 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC's holdings in Ashland were worth $919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 59.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 398.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ashland from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.90.

Ashland Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:ASH opened at $74.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.10, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $46.29 and a one year high of $78.25. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $69.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.68.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is presently 147.37%.

Ashland 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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