Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 36,849 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.09% of Ardmore Shipping at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 7,972 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 7,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth $105,000. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASC opened at $17.67 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.31. The stock has a market cap of $719.70 million, a PE ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.84 and a current ratio of 5.45. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a one year low of $10.31 and a one year high of $20.02.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 29.67%.The company had revenue of $116.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.30 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.23%.

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.