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

Auxano Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $818,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 338.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock traded down $1.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $95.33. The stock had a trading volume of 370,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,958. 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 market cap of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $101.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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 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 the consensus estimate of $478.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Ashland’s revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TheStreet raised Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ashland in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.00.

About Ashland

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.