Is Ashland (ASH) Trading at a Discount?

American Century Investments, an investment management company, released its third-quarter 2025 investor letter for the “American Century Investments Small Cap Value Fund.” A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Equities rose strongly in the third quarter, with several hitting record highs. In the third quarter, the US Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate for the first time in the year. The portfolio aims to invest in small-cap companies that are undervalued and do not accurately represent their quality and potential earnings capability. The investor class of the fund returned 4.69% in the quarter, compared to 12.60% for the Russell 2000 Value Index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its third-quarter 2025 investor letter, American Century Investments Small Cap Value Fund highlighted stocks such as Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH). Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) offers additives and specialty ingredients that operate through Life Sciences, Personal Care, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates segments. The one-month return of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) was 4.09%, and its shares lost 16.09% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 2, 2026, Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) stock closed at $59.85 per share, with a market capitalization of $2.739 billion.

American Century Investments Small Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:

"Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH). We opened a position in this global specialty chemical company, which has shifted its focus to serving the consumer and pharmaceutical end markets. Despite what we believe is a high-quality portfolio, the stock is trading at a steep discount to historical valuations."

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 32 hedge fund portfolios held Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) at the end of the third quarter, up from 33 in the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Ashland Inc.’s (NYSE:ASH) sales declined 8% year-over-year to $478 million. While we acknowledge the potential of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) and shared Diamond Hill Small-Mid Cap Fund's views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.