Cwm LLC Sells 15,370 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Cwm LLC cut its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,370 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Ashland worth $3,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 284.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $172,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555,585 shares in the last quarter. Standard Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the third quarter valued at approximately $107,318,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 807.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,123,804 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,006 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,397,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 353.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 250,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,574,000 after purchasing an additional 194,880 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $56.71 on Thursday. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.29 and a twelve month high of $65.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.45 and a 200 day moving average of $56.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.58% and a negative net margin of 38.26%.The business had revenue of $386.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $401.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $63.00 price objective on Ashland in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Monday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus reduced their price target on Ashland from $70.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Evercore set a $62.00 price target on Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.11.

More Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Last quarter Ashland beat EPS estimates ($0.26 vs. $0.23), showing some underlying earnings resilience that could limit downside into the report. Analysts still forecast ~3.81 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple local news reports about shootings, an officer being wounded and other incidents in towns named Ashland — these are community/public-safety stories, not corporate developments, and are unlikely to move Ashland Inc.’s stock. Former Ashland City Schools employee charged
• Neutral Sentiment: Investigation continues after man shot, killed by police in Ashland — local incident, not company-related. Investigation continues after man shot
• Neutral Sentiment: Officer shot, driver dead after Ashland motor vehicle stop — local news, unrelated to Ashland Inc. Officer shot, driver dead
• Neutral Sentiment: Officer shot after traffic stop in Ashland; 1 man dead, AG says — local criminal report, not corporate. Officer shot after traffic stop
• Neutral Sentiment: Community event coverage (Ashland’s 22nd annual Train Day) — local positive community news with no clear corporate impact. Ashland’s 22nd annual Train Day
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional local outlets reporting officer wounded and one person killed in Ashland incidents — all local coverage, unlikely to affect ASH. 1 person killed in police shooting
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks preview states Ashland “doesn’t possess the right combination” to likely beat in the upcoming earnings report, which can put downward pressure heading into the release. Ashland (ASH) Reports Next Week
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/financial headwinds from the last quarter — revenue missed expectations ($386M vs. ~$401M est.) and the company reported a negative net margin — remain investor concerns ahead of earnings and help explain the share weakness.

Ashland 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.