American Century Companies Inc. Has $15.40 Million Holdings in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,572,868 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,361 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 3.87% of Ardmore Shipping worth $15,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 545.0% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,890 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,010 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC opened at $11.4550 on Monday. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 12-month low of $8.32 and a 12-month high of $19.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.38 and its 200 day moving average is $9.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $465.30 million, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.05.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 14.48%.The company had revenue of $72.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.92 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Ardmore Shipping’s quarterly revenue was down 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 263.0%. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous dividend of $0.05. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASC. Zacks Research raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $12.67.

Ardmore Shipping 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.