Auxano Advisors LLC Takes Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Auxano Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,707 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $818,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Ashland by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 64,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,411,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ashland by 156.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 138,089 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,643,000 after acquiring an additional 84,188 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,000. Alesco Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at $981,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Ashland by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,981 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,696,000 after buying an additional 3,755 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH stock traded down $1.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $95.35. The stock had a trading volume of 370,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,028. The company's 50 day moving average price is $95.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.47. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.82 and a 1-year high of $101.94. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 3.30.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ashland from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ashland in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Finally, TheStreet raised Ashland from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.00.

About Ashland

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.