Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Short Interest Down 21.5% in March

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,170,000 shares, a decline of 21.5% from the March 15th total of 1,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 772,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASH. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.20.

Ashland Stock Up 2.9 %

Ashland stock traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $53.33. The company had a trading volume of 170,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,696. Ashland has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -80.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $56.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ashland

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ashland by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $352,221,000 after acquiring an additional 66,530 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $204,409,000 after purchasing an additional 212,916 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,695 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $201,423,000 after buying an additional 44,018 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Ashland by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $200,583,000 after buying an additional 208,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Ashland by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $132,383,000 after buying an additional 569,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

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.