SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 149,421 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC cut its Ashland stake by 66.2% in the first quarter, selling 149,421 shares and leaving it with 76,411 shares worth about $4.25 million.
• Despite that sale, Ashland remains heavily owned by institutions, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 93.95% of the stock.
• Ashland recently reported Q2 EPS of $0.91, missing estimates, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share for a 2.6% yield.

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 66.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,411 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 149,421 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Ashland worth $4,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 284.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $172,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555,585 shares in the last quarter. Standard Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,318,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 13,240.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,736,173 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $101,861,000 after buying an additional 1,723,159 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 775.6% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,900,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $111,473,000 after buying an additional 1,682,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Ashland by 1,080,682.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,437,440 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $84,335,000 after buying an additional 1,437,307 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $64.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.15, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.43. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.29 and a twelve month high of $68.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.90 and a 200 day moving average of $58.83.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $485.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is -10.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus lowered their price target on Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ashland from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.67.

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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