Vident Advisory LLC Takes $282,000 Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland Inc. valued at approximately $282,000 by purchasing 4,762 shares during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Allspring Global Investments and Diamond Hill Capital Management, have significantly increased their holdings in Ashland, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• Ashland recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.04, missing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.415 with a yield of 3.1% scheduled for payout on September 15th.

Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 33.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $132,383,000 after purchasing an additional 569,740 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 7.4% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,683,627 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $99,822,000 after purchasing an additional 115,811 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 48.7% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,228,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,839,000 after purchasing an additional 402,286 shares in the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 172.5% during the fourth quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,934,000 after purchasing an additional 424,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 4.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 522,088 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,955,000 after purchasing an additional 24,478 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Argus cut their target price on Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Ashland in a research note on Monday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.43.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $53.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of -2.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.52. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.05.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $463.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $479.34 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.86%.

Ashland 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.

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