Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Reduces Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL reduced its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,742 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s holdings in Ashland were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 122.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 143.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8,211.1% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $85.36 on Tuesday. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.82 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.89.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 42.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of 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 lowered their price objective on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

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.