Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Shares Acquired by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Ardmore Shipping Corporation by 5.9%, purchasing an additional 49,340 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 879,760 shares.
• Recent analyst ratings for Ardmore Shipping show a shift, with Fearnley Fonds upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" and Evercore ISI lowering its price target, indicating mixed market sentiment.
• Ardmore Shipping announced a $0.05 per share dividend with a yield of 2.05% and a dividend payout ratio of 8.77%, with the dividend having been paid on June 13th.

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 879,760 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 49,340 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 2.17% of Ardmore Shipping worth $8,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Quarry LP lifted its position 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 during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position 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 during the period. 62.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:ASC traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.21. 355,565 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,079. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 12-month low of $8.32 and a 12-month high of $22.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.81 million, a PE ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.02.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $74.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The company's revenue was down 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a yield of 2.05%. Ardmore Shipping's payout ratio is 8.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASC shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of 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 hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.67.

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.