6,444 Shares in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Acquired by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Ashland by 338.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 163.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Ashland by 43.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.00.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH opened at $95.24 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $95.20 and a 200-day moving average of $86.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.82 and a 12-month high of $101.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $473.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.69 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 7.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.