Ticino Wealth Buys Shares of 722,135 Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Key Points

• Ticino Wealth bought 722,135 shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) in Q4, spending about $7.65 million and making ASC its 5th-largest holding at 2.8% of the firm's portfolio (Ticino owns ~1.78% of ASC).
• Ardmore beat estimates with Q4 EPS of $0.28 (vs. $0.27 consensus) and revenue of $82.91M (vs. $51M consensus), and the stock trades near $16 with a $651.6M market cap and a P/E of 17.98.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.09 (annualized $0.36, ~2.3% yield), institutional investors hold about 62.2% of shares, and analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $15 target.

Ticino Wealth bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 722,135 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $7,647,000. Ardmore Shipping accounts for 2.8% of Ticino Wealth's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Ticino Wealth owned about 1.78% of Ardmore Shipping at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 7,972 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,241 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company's stock.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

NYSE ASC opened at $16.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.33 and a quick ratio of 3.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.04. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 1 year low of $8.89 and a 1 year high of $16.91. The firm has a market cap of $651.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98 and a beta of -0.14.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $82.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.00 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 7.02%.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.00.

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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