Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Raises Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 143.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $32,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Ashland by 167.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 107,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,070,000 after purchasing an additional 67,556 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 696.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 52,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,415,000 after buying an additional 45,796 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,671,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,932,000 after buying an additional 256,828 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter worth $818,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 3.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 188,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,418,000 after acquiring an additional 6,246 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH stock opened at $95.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $95.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.85. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $99.55. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.11.

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.