HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Has $2.57 Million Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 137.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,140 shares during the quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Ashland worth $2,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Ashland by 610.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 133.8% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Ashland Trading Up 2.8 %

ASH stock opened at $80.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.49. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.04 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a market cap 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.