Short Interest in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Increases By 10.9%

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, an increase of 10.9% from the December 15th total of 1,100,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 422,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of Ashland stock traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $71.54. 342,657 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 407,097. Ashland has a one year low of $68.14 and a one year high of $102.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.29.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ashland will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ashland by 12.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $226,000,000 after acquiring an additional 284,215 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 2,060.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,802,000 after acquiring an additional 170,859 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 616.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,875,000 after acquiring an additional 162,776 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 703.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $13,206,000 after acquiring an additional 161,812 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.