Ashland Inc. $ASH Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Ashland worth $6,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abound Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ashland by 93.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Ashland by 2,440.4% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,321 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Ashland by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,394 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $52.90 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.21 and a twelve month high of $80.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.58 and a 200-day moving average of $51.23. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.49.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The business had revenue of $509.00 million for the quarter. Ashland has set its FY 2022 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ASH shares. Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Ashland from $62.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.13.

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.