Short Interest in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Expands By 41.0%

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a growth of 41.0% from the September 15th total of 716,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 441,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASH. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock 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 six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.50.

Ashland Trading Up 1.5 %

ASH opened at $87.07 on Tuesday. Ashland has a fifty-two week low of $70.82 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.85.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. The business had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s payout ratio is presently 42.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 8,211.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.