Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Purchases 36,200 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 109.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 36,200 shares during the quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $4,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 276.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 9,100 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 4,058 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. decreased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.60.

Ashland Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of ASH stock opened at $56.4350 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $90.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of -3.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.02 and a 200-day moving average of $53.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The business had revenue of $463.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ashland’s payout ratio is -8.86%.

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.