Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Bought by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Ashland accounts for 1.5% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. VELA Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Ashland worth $4,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 1st quarter valued at about $624,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 216,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,042,000 after purchasing an additional 78,013 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 1st quarter valued at $3,480,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,424,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,435,000 after buying an additional 164,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 427.1% in the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 12,096 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH stock opened at $86.26 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.60.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. The company had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 42.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ashland Profile

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.