Numerai GP LLC Decreases Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Numerai GP LLC lessened its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 42.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,903 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 35,744 shares during the quarter. Numerai GP LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Ashland worth $2,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASH. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 3,673.3% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 59.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter worth about $53,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $63.00 price objective on Ashland in a report on Monday, February 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Ashland Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $50.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.72. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.35, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $45.21 and a one year high of $65.64.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. Ashland had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a positive return on equity of 7.58%. The firm had revenue of $386.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $401.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 1st were paid a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -10.99%.

Ashland Company Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.