Newport Trust Company LLC Sells 16,731 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

Newport Trust Company LLC decreased its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 518,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,731 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $24,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Ashland by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 21,416 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 2,537 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at about $1,014,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 95.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 6.5% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,842 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the third quarter worth about $221,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ASH. Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ashland from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research lowered Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.13.

Ashland Trading Up 0.4%

ASH opened at $63.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of -3.45, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.38 and a 200-day moving average of $53.87. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.21 and a 52 week high of $72.33.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.97 million. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 46.25%.Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.05%.

More Ashland News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders approved directors, the auditor and executive pay at Ashland’s annual meeting (≈90.94% support), reducing near‑term governance uncertainty and supporting investor confidence. Ashland Shareholders Approve Directors, Auditor and Executive Pay
• Neutral Sentiment: ICE plans to buy a 500,000 sq. ft. warehouse near Ashland for an immigration detention facility — a notable regional development but unlikely to affect Ashland Inc.’s corporate operations or near‑term earnings. ICE to purchase 500,000-square-foot warehouse near Ashland for immigration detention facility
• Neutral Sentiment: Local community and municipal items (new Grocery Outlet opening, parks & recreation director resignation, local weather and sports coverage) were reported but are not company‑specific and are unlikely to move ASH fundamentals. Examples include a new Grocery Outlet in Ashland and the parks director resignation. New Grocery Outlet Opens in Ashland with Discounts and Community Support
• Neutral Sentiment: Weather and local event coverage (winter storm tips, forecasts) could cause short, localized logistics disruptions but no direct impact on Ashland Inc.’s corporate outlook was reported. Ashland County weather forecast Friday calls for breezy and very cold

Ashland Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.