Ashland Inc. $ASH Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,611,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 39,691 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Ashland worth $220,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 59.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Ashland during the third quarter worth $57,000. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the second quarter valued at about $62,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,330 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Ashland by 67.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,394 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Ashland from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Argus lifted their price target on Ashland from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley set a $63.00 price objective on Ashland in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Ashland News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ashland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/quarterly take: A Seeking Alpha piece argues Ashland remains a buy despite recent strength, citing valuation and upside vs. peers — this supports investor confidence and buying interest. Ashland: Still A Buy Despite Recent Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Technical trigger: A market note flagged Ashland shares crossing above the 200-day moving average — a bullish technical event that can attract momentum traders, though the write-up also raises the question of profit‑taking. Ashland Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?
• Neutral Sentiment: Local culture: Paramount Theater in Ashland celebrated a grand reopening — positive for local community vibrancy but not material to Ashland Inc.’s corporate performance. ‘Let the show begin’: Paramount Theater Ashland celebrates grand reopening
• Neutral Sentiment: Community/education: Ashland High School held a vigil after a fatal car crash — a local development with community impact but unrelated to the company’s operations. Ashland High School holds vigil for students killed in car crash
• Neutral Sentiment: College sports note: Keystone linebacker Shane Ohl committed to Ashland (university) — local/regional interest but not material to ASH corporate fundamentals. Keystone football: All-Ohio linebacker Shane Ohl commits to Ashland
• Neutral Sentiment: High school sports: Boyd’s Spurlock beat Ashland for a district basketball crown — local sports result with no company impact. Prep boys basketball: Boyd’s Spurlock ices Ashland for 64th District crown
• Neutral Sentiment: Arts/education: Ashland University is hosting a free winter choral concert — positive for community engagement but immaterial to ASH stock. Ashland University hosts free winter choral concert March 1
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy discussion: A former Peace Corps volunteer spoke on USAID shutdown impacts in Ashland — local policy discussion without direct corporate relevance. Former Peace Corps volunteer speaks on USAID shutdown in Ashland
• Neutral Sentiment: Local business/community: A gardening club story on downtown vitality — positive for local economy but not for ASH corporate earnings. Gardening club hears how Ashland’s downtown thrives

Ashland Price Performance

ASH opened at $62.33 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.21 and a twelve month high of $65.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.13, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.71.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. Ashland had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a positive return on equity of 7.58%. The company had revenue of $386.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $401.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 1st will be issued a $0.415 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -10.99%.

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.