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

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, an increase of 41.0% from the September 15th total of 716,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 441,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ashland Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE ASH traded up $0.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $85.75. The stock had a trading volume of 218,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,027. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.92. Ashland has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The business had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $577.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 616.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,875,000 after acquiring an additional 162,776 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth $14,346,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,806,137 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $175,864,000 after buying an additional 149,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Ashland by 407.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 139,718 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,202,000 after purchasing an additional 112,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ashland Company 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.