Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC Invests $21.02 Million in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Key Points

• Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC invested approximately $21.02 million in Ardmore Shipping Corporation, acquiring 2,189,460 shares, which accounts for about 5.39% of the company's shares.
• Ardmore Shipping recently reported $0.22 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.18, and its revenue for the quarter was $72.05 million, significantly higher than the consensus estimate of $44.92 million.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.05 to $0.07, representing an annualized yield of 2.2%.

Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,189,460 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $21,019,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC owned about 5.39% of Ardmore Shipping at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter valued at approximately $394,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 6.3% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,263 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 6.9% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 430,441 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 27,907 shares during the last quarter. Michels Family Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 35,458 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

NYSE ASC opened at $12.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.88, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.25. The company has a market cap of $517.09 million, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.12. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 1 year low of $8.32 and a 1 year high of $18.79.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The firm had revenue of $72.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business's revenue was down 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Ardmore Shipping's payout ratio is currently 27.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ASC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $13.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $12.67.

Ardmore Shipping 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.

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