MQS Management LLC Invests $293,000 in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,773,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,037,000 after buying an additional 86,977 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ashland by 9.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,314,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $218,686,000 after purchasing an additional 198,913 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,806,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $175,864,000 after purchasing an additional 149,483 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after purchasing an additional 103,517 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Ashland by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,492,000 after buying an additional 14,938 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.57.

Ashland Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $78.07 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.44 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $85.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 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.