Ashland Inc. $ASH Stock Holdings Lifted by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 750.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,280 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Ashland worth $3,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Abound Wealth Management acquired a new position in Ashland during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 63.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 93.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Ashland by 44.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Ashland by 2,440.4% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,321 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.43.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $50.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $81.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.28.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The firm had revenue of $509.00 million for the quarter. Ashland has set its FY 2022 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 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.