Alesco Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Alesco Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 11,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 139.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,414,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,558,000 after acquiring an additional 824,600 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ashland by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,260,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $184,624,000 after purchasing an additional 560,916 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at about $22,880,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,953,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $159,522,000 after purchasing an additional 248,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 157.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 198,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,699,000 after purchasing an additional 121,161 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE ASH traded up $0.86 on Friday, hitting $96.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 252,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,712. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $101.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.08. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.92.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.24. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 7.62%. The business had revenue of $473.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $478.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.00.

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.