Ashland Inc. $ASH Stake Lessened by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank cut its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 774 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Ashland were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Ashland by 33.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,383,000 after buying an additional 569,740 shares during the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ashland by 172.5% in the fourth quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,934,000 after buying an additional 424,595 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Ashland by 48.7% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,228,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,839,000 after buying an additional 402,286 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Ashland by 5,452.8% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 175,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,384,000 after buying an additional 171,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Ashland by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 306,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,925,000 after buying an additional 153,757 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Up 1.2%

ASH stock opened at $54.88 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $89.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.93, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.21.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The company had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -8.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.67.

Ashland Company 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.