Ancora Holdings Group released a presentation urging Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) to conduct a review of strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the company. The investment firm believes Ashland's assets are undervalued by public markets despite the company's high-margin specialty chemical operations.

Ancora estimates a sale could yield approximately $76 per share, representing a 33% premium to current trading levels. The firm's analysis suggests Ashland could be valued at 11.5 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in a takeover scenario.

Standard Industries currently owns about 9.9% of Ashland and has previously acquired companies after building initial stakes, including W.R. Grace in 2021. Ancora indicates other strategic and private equity buyers have expressed interest in Ashland.

Ashland operates in life sciences and personal care segments, which represent approximately 75%-80% of the company's total EBITDA with margins in the high-20s range. The company currently trades at about 9.6 times enterprise value to EBITDA, below its historical median of 11.0 times and the 13.8 times median of comparable transactions.

The specialty chemical company has faced execution challenges, missing consensus estimates in four of the past five quarters. Following Ashland's second-quarter 2026 earnings disclosure, the stock price dropped nearly 15% in 24 hours.

Ancora plans to engage with Ashland's board of directors regarding the evaluation of standalone prospects versus a potential sale to strategic or financial buyers in the specialty chemicals sector.