Leisure Capital Management Has $648,000 Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Leisure Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 41.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,931 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,192 shares during the period. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in Ashland were worth $648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings in Ashland by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,409,000 after purchasing an additional 212,916 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ashland by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,423,000 after purchasing an additional 44,018 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $132,383,000 after purchasing an additional 569,740 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,683,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $99,822,000 after purchasing an additional 115,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shapiro Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 172.5% in the 4th quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,934,000 after buying an additional 424,595 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.40.

Ashland Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:ASH opened at $50.77 on Tuesday. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $91.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.17.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The firm had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.