Short Interest in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Expands By 47.6%

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,000,000 shares, a growth of 47.6% from the March 31st total of 677,700 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 417,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 143.9% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 338.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Ashland by 43.1% in 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 in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ASH traded up $0.86 on Friday, reaching $96.06. 252,676 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 304,569. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland has a 12 month low of $70.82 and a 12 month 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.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $473.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Ashland will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASH. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. 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. raised their target price on Ashland from $70.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has an average 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.