Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 741,600 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the May 15th total of 701,600 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 327,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Pathstone Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 3rd quarter worth about $232,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 11,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 3,058 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,279 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $97.59 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.64 and a 200-day moving average of $92.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 42.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.44.

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.