Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Buys Shares of 4,802 Ashland Inc. $ASH

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Ashland by 276.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Ashland by 33.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 1st quarter worth $273,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 417,809.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 45,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,726,000 after buying an additional 45,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Up 1.3%

Ashland stock opened at $50.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of -2.70, a P/E/G ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.31. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $88.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $509.00 million during the quarter. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%. Ashland has set its FY 2022 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Ashland’s payout ratio is -8.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASH. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ashland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ashland from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.43.

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.