State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $2.06 Million Holdings in Ashland Inc. $ASH

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,965 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned approximately 0.09% of Ashland worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 1,935.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 35,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,990,000 after purchasing an additional 33,657 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 285.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 125,433.3% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,766 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the first quarter valued at about $337,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Ashland in a research report on Monday, September 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.43.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $48.50 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.21 and a 52-week high of $88.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of -2.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.49.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The business had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Ashland’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 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently -8.86%.

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.