Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the October 15th total of 1,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 437,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.57.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $75.71. The company had a trading volume of 14,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,592. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ashland has a 1-year low of $75.54 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.73. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashland

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 4.2% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 657,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,973,000 after purchasing an additional 26,245 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the second quarter valued at approximately $713,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 33.0% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 429,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,727,000 after acquiring an additional 106,417 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Ashland by 242.5% during the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 13,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,442,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.