Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Bought by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 137.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,140 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $2,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of 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. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during 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 increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth $71,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $80.25 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.04 and a 52 week high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.