Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 53,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,551,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $376,376,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ashland by 284.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $172,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555,585 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 13,240.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,736,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,159 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 775.6% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,900,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth $105,471,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ASH shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ashland from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ashland from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.90.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $72.97 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 64.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.29 and a twelve month high of $78.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.29.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.37%.

Ashland Company 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.