HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Has $2.57 Million Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $713,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,492,000 after purchasing an additional 14,938 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,442,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at $3,134,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 2.4% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 581,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,577 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Up 2.8 %

Ashland stock opened at $80.25 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.87. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.04 and a 1-year high of $102.50.

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

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ASH shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target 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 cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped 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 five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of Ashland 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.