Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Shares Sold by WealthTrust Axiom LLC

WealthTrust Axiom LLC trimmed its holdings in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 108,301 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,975 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $1,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 606,898 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,551,000 after purchasing an additional 205,245 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Glenorchy Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,081,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 405,741 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,717,000 after acquiring an additional 9,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 15,476 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of ASC traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $16.84. 264,880 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 624,640. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $684.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.38. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a twelve month low of $11.59 and a twelve month high of $17.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 3.38.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 29.50%. The firm had revenue of $98.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Ardmore Shipping’s revenue was down 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASC shares. StockNews.com lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 15th.

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.