Flat Footed LLC Sells 244,724 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Key Points

• Flat Footed LLC reduced its Ardmore Shipping stake by 19.6%, selling 244,724 shares and retaining 1,004,696 shares worth approximately $15.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 62.22% of ASC.
• Ardmore Shipping reported first-quarter EPS of $0.58, exceeding estimates of $0.51, while revenue reached $87.92 million versus the $58.08 million consensus.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.39 per share, representing a 9.4% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $17.00.

Flat Footed LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) by 19.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,004,696 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 244,724 shares during the period. Ardmore Shipping comprises approximately 1.7% of Flat Footed LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Flat Footed LLC owned approximately 2.47% of Ardmore Shipping worth $15,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 18.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,736,632 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $26,484,000 after purchasing an additional 266,275 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,706 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,662,000 after buying an additional 32,450 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 18,646 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,462 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $37,399,000 after acquiring an additional 24,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ardmore Shipping

In related news, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,175,842.74. The trade was a 21.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total transaction of $152,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 60,039 shares in the company, valued at $1,144,943.73. This represents a 11.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock worth $766,048 in the last quarter.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ASC opened at $16.61 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $16.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $676.32 million, a PE ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 0.04. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 12-month low of $10.06 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $87.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.08 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.4%. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio is presently 117.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASC. Evercore set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.00.

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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