Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Purchases New Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 40,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,905,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Ashland by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Ashland by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in Ashland by 302.4% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.60.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH opened at $50.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.21 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $53.49 and its 200-day moving average is $65.79.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is -69.17%.

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.