Keep holding these activist targets

Article Excerpt

ASHLAND GLOBAL HOLDINGS INC. $73 (New York symbol ASH; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 60.5 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion; Dividend yield: 1.2%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.ashland.com) makes a variety of specialty chemicals. The company has three main businesses: Specialty Ingredients (roughly 65% of its total sales) makes coatings, adhesives and other products for the pharmaceutical, food and construction industries; Composites (25%) makes plastics and resins for the construction and industrial-products markets; and Intermediates and Solvents (10%) makes chemicals for plastics makers. North America accounts for 40% of sales. Activist investment fund Eminence Capital has now acquired 8.3% interest in Ashland. Emenence isn’t the only activist to take a stake in Ashland. Earlier this year, the company agreed to place two nominees from hedge fund Neuberger Berman on its board of directors. The activists have yet to say what they want the company to do, but the sale or spinoff of one of Ashland’s main divisions seems likely. This would not be Ashland’s…