American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 81,361 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping Corporation by 5.5% to approximately $15.4 million, now owning about 3.87% of the company.
• Ardmore Shipping announced an increase in its dividend from $0.05 to $0.07, with a dividend yield of 263.0%, set to be paid on September 12th.
• Ardmore Shipping's recent earnings report showed $0.22 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, and a total revenue of $72.05 million, significantly higher than the forecasted $44.92 million.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,572,868 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 81,361 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 3.87% of Ardmore Shipping worth $15,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

NYSE:ASC traded up $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $11.67. 398,960 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 645,359. 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 50-day simple moving average of $10.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.01. The firm has a market cap of $474.20 million, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.05. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 12 month low of $8.32 and a 12 month high of $19.01.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $72.05 million for 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Ardmore Shipping's payout ratio is 27.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $13.00 target price on Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.