Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC Stock Holdings Increased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) by 18.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,736,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 266,275 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $26,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at $618,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth $1,170,000. Ticino Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth $7,647,000. Marnell Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth $3,877,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 28.0% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 164,436 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 35,923 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

ASC opened at $16.65 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.37 and a 200-day moving average of $15.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.03 million, a P/E ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.04. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 12-month low of $10.17 and a 12-month high of $20.02. The company has a quick ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $116.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.34 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 18.00%.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 19.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 117.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardmore Shipping

In related news, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total transaction of $315,448.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 60,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,842.74. This trade represents a 21.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total transaction of $227,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,471 shares in the company, valued at $671,466.03. The trade was a 25.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $766,048 in the last 90 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ASC shares. Evercore set a $19.00 price target on Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

About Ardmore Shipping

Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a Bermuda-based provider of seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products. The company owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including medium-range (MR), long-range 2 (LR2) and Aframax vessels. Ardmore Shipping focuses on the ocean carriage of clean and dirty petroleum products under time charters, bareboat charters and spot voyages, serving a diverse customer base that includes major oil companies and trading houses.

Since its founding in 2005, Ardmore Shipping has grown its fleet through newbuilding contracts, second-hand acquisitions and fleet renewals, aiming to maintain a high quality, fuel-efficient profile.