Thames Capital Management LLC Makes New $10.34 Million Investment in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Thames Capital Management disclosed a new position in Ashland Inc., buying 176,276 shares worth about $10.34 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represents about 1.5% of the fund’s portfolio and roughly 0.39% of Ashland.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their Ashland holdings, and 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutions. Analysts currently have a mixed view, with a Hold consensus and an average price target of $62.78.
• Ashland reported quarterly earnings of $0.91 per share, missing estimates, while revenue was slightly below expectations. The company also kept its quarterly dividend at $0.42 per share, yielding about 2.9%.

Thames Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 176,276 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $10,342,000. Ashland accounts for 1.5% of Thames Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Thames Capital Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Ashland at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 18.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,306 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 7,309 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 6.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 49.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 284,454 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,865,000 after acquiring an additional 94,067 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 1.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 387,132 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,953,000 after acquiring an additional 6,245 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 10.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 152,830 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,061,000 after acquiring an additional 13,989 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ASH shares. Argus reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Ashland from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ashland from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.78.

Ashland Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $57.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.76, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.29 and a 12 month high of $65.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.36.

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). The business had revenue of $482.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.61 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 8.06% and a negative net margin of 39.03%.The firm's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Ashland's payout ratio is presently -10.77%.

About Ashland

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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