Bank of America Corp DE Has $2.13 Million Holdings in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Key Points

• Bank of America nearly doubled its Ardmore Shipping stake in the first quarter, increasing holdings by 93.5% to 139,639 shares valued at approximately $2.13 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.22% of the company.
• Ardmore Shipping reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.18 versus the $1.11 consensus and revenue of $116.21 million compared with expectations of $86.30 million.
• The company doubled its quarterly dividend to $0.79 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $3.16 and a 17.9% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $17.00 target price.

Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) by 93.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,639 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,473 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.34% of Ardmore Shipping worth $2,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 10.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,219 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,701 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 361,658 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 63,864 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ardmore Shipping from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Ardmore Shipping from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. 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, Ardmore Shipping currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASC opened at $17.66 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $16.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.40. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $10.31 and a fifty-two week high of $20.02. The company has a market capitalization of $719.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 4.84.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.67% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.9%. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.01%.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

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.

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