Hantz Financial Services Inc. Raises Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 152,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $13,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ASH. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in Ashland by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 5.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 3.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Ashland by 5.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ASH opened at $78.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.04 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.69 and a 200 day moving average of $89.83.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.29.

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.