Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Short Interest Update

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ashland by 105.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 119,135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,513,000 after buying an additional 61,058 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,134,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,492,000 after purchasing an additional 14,938 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 138.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 120,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,501,000 after buying an additional 70,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,442,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH traded up $0.79 during trading on Monday, reaching $71.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 342,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.29. Ashland has a 52-week low of $68.14 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ashland will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

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

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.