Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 38,320 Shares of Ashland Inc. $ASH

by · The Markets Daily

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH – Free Report) by 250.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,638 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 38,320 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Ashland were worth $2,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ashland by 59.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 20.9% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,330 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Ashland by 2,440.4% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,321 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $62.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.43. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $67.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 3.15.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. Ashland had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a positive return on equity of 7.58%. The firm had revenue of $386.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $401.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 1st will be given a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -10.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ashland in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $62.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Ashland from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.67.

View Our Latest Research Report on Ashland

About Ashland

(Free Report)

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.

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