Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Acquires New Shares in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 2,736.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 212.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 285.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on Ashland in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.40.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $53.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.41. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $98.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of -22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 5.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.14%. The business had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were given a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -69.17%.

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.