Headlands Technologies LLC Purchases Shares of 1,091 Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,091 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alesco Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 4th quarter worth about $981,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in Ashland by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,696,000 after buying an additional 3,755 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Ashland in the fourth quarter worth about $543,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 163.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dupree Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth approximately $276,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $97.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $101.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.42 and a 200 day moving average of $86.47.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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