Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 606,898 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 205,245 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $8,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Glenorchy Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,081,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 405,741 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,717,000 after buying an additional 9,517 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 15,476 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,476 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ASC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of ASC stock opened at $17.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 3.38 and a current ratio of 3.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $717.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 0.36. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a one year low of $11.59 and a one year high of $17.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.21.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $98.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.26 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation engages in the seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. The company's fleet consists of 22 owned vessels including 21 Eco-design and 1 Eco-mod vessel, and four chartered-in vessels. It serves oil majors, oil companies, oil and chemical traders, chemical companies, and pooling service providers.