Winch Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 59.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $98,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Ashland by 193.1% during the 3rd 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. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 8,211.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA purchased a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.50.

Ashland Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ASH opened at $86.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.82 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.58. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.08 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.97%.

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.