Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Acquired by Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC

Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 13,586 shares during the period. Ashland accounts for approximately 2.4% of Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $4,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.00.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH stock opened at $57.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -86.72, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.86 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.29.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s payout ratio is -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.