AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 162,776 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 616.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,776 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $17,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,438,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $412,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth $3,085,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,587,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland in the second quarter valued at about $194,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $86.97 on Tuesday. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $88.19 and its 200-day moving average is $93.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.97%.

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.