Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.21 Million in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 14,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,214,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 139.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,414,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $115,558,000 after purchasing an additional 824,600 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Ashland by 33.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,260,333 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $184,624,000 after purchasing an additional 560,916 shares during the period. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ashland during the third quarter worth about $22,880,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ashland by 14.6% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,953,015 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $159,522,000 after purchasing an additional 248,591 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 198,064 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,699,000 after purchasing an additional 121,161 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ASH stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 314,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,634. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 3.30 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $95.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.95. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.82 and a 1-year high of $103.43.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $473.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $478.69 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 5.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASH shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ashland from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ashland from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet raised shares of Ashland from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.00.

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.