Ashland Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

29 May 2020, 12:16 by Mitch Edgeman

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ashland Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:ASH) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 690 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Ashland Global were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. York Capital Management Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,724,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ashland Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,927,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ashland Global by 22.4% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,207,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $110,524,000 after buying an additional 404,657 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Ashland Global by 119.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 349,965 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,582,000 after buying an additional 190,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aperture Investors LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland Global during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,245,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.49% of the company’s stock.

Several analysts have issued reports on ASH shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ashland Global from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank increased their price target on Ashland Global from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Co increased their price target on Ashland Global from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. ValuEngine cut Ashland Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, TheStreet cut Ashland Global from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

ASH opened at $67.79 on Friday. Ashland Global Holdings Inc has a 12 month low of $38.88 and a 12 month high of $81.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.79.

Ashland Global (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.84. Ashland Global had a positive return on equity of 4.63% and a negative net margin of 3.05%. The firm had revenue of $610.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $618.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Global Holdings Inc will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Ashland Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.00%.

Ashland Global Profile

Ashland Global Holdings Inc provides specialty chemical solutions worldwide. The company's Specialty Ingredients segment offers products, technologies, and resources for solving formulation and product-performance challenges. It provides solutions using natural, synthetic, and semisynthetic polymers derived from cellulose ethers, vinyl pyrrolidones, acrylic polymers, polyester and polyurethane-based adhesives, and plant and seed extracts.