HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Purchases 17,140 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 137.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,140 shares during the quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Ashland worth $2,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Ashland by 193.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ashland by 133.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Up 2.8 %

ASH stock opened at $80.25 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.49. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.04 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ASH shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.29.

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.