Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 26,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,300,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Ashland by 193.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 133.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the second quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH stock opened at $76.42 on Wednesday. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.48 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.66 and its 200 day moving average is $90.60. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during 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%. Ashland’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.