Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Takes $401,000 Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 5,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $58.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.63. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.86 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.38, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -245.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn cut Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $80.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.