Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC Has $9.36 Million Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 26,200 shares during the period. Ashland accounts for 9.6% of Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Ashland worth $9,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthPLAN Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Ashland by 95.7% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ashland during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. 90.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Ashland from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ashland from $94.00 to $87.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Ashland from $114.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. TheStreet downgraded Ashland from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Ashland from $110.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.14.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $77.34. The company had a trading volume of 39,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,760. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $114.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.36.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.06). Ashland had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $518.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $528.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, CFO J Kevin Willis sold 7,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.54, for a total transaction of $680,723.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,583 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,392.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ashland Profile

Ashland Inc provides additives and specialty ingredients worldwide. 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.