Deutsche Bank AG Cuts Stock Position in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its stake in Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) by 45.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,138 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 71,476 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.21% of Ardmore Shipping worth $853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 545.0% in the first 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 last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 37.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,010 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE ASC opened at $11.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $465.51 million, a PE ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.41 and a 200 day moving average of $9.98. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 1 year low of $8.32 and a 1 year high of $19.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.88 and a quick ratio of 3.56.

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

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.