Gries Financial LLC Takes Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Gries Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 24,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,441,000. Gries Financial LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Ashland at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 52.3% during the 1st quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 13,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 4,514 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland during the 1st quarter worth $245,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 1,745.8% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Ashland by 5,452.8% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 175,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,384,000 after purchasing an additional 171,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 237.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 10,948 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.40.

Ashland Stock Down 1.9%

ASH stock opened at $51.41 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $98.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.42, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 5.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were issued a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -69.17%.

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.