Is Ashland Inc. a Buy?

Ashland Inc. operates as a global supplier of specialized chemicals and additives. Its business activities are structured into four main divisions: Life Sciences; Personal Care & Household; Specialty Additives; and Intermediates and Solvents. The Life Sciences segment delivers pharmaceutical formulations, encompassing controlled release polymers, disintegrants, tablet coatings, thickeners, solubilizers, and binding agents for tablets. It also offers nutritional compounds like thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and various additives, alongside nutraceutical items designed for weight management, joint comfort, gastrointestinal health, sports nutrition, and general well-being. Additionally, this division provides custom formulation services, toll processing, and particle engineering expertise. The Personal Care & Household division manufactures a diverse array of naturally derived, biodegradable, and high-performance ingredients for personal care products. Its offerings extend to solutions for oral hygiene, such as toothpastes, mouthwashes, denture cleansers, and general dental care. For household applications, it supplies nature-sourced rheology modifiers, biodegradable wetting agents for surfaces, advanced encapsulants, and specialized polymers. The Specialty Additives segment's portfolio includes rheology modifiers, agents for foam control, surfactants, wetting agents, pH neutralizers, and advanced ceramic materials, which find application in catalytic converters, environmental filters, components for ceramic capacitors, plasma display panels, and solar cells. Furthermore, it supplies ingredients for textile printing, thermoplastic metals, and alloys utilized in welding processes. The Intermediates and Solvents division is responsible for producing 1,4 butanediol and its associated derivatives, notably n-methylpyrrolidone. Ashland's diverse product portfolio serves clientele across numerous consumer and industrial sectors, including architectural coatings, construction, energy, food and beverage, nutraceuticals, personal care, and pharmaceuticals. The company, previously known as Ashland Global Holdings Inc., was established in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1924.