Wellington Management Group LLP Raises Stock Position in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Ardmore Shipping Corporation by 5.2%, owning approximately 1.49 million shares worth $14.56 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Ardmore Shipping recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.07, up from $0.05, representing a yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 19.42%.
• The shipping company reported $72.05 million in revenue for the latest quarter, significantly surpassing the consensus estimate of $44.92 million, despite a 40.6% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,487,111 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 73,557 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 3.66% of Ardmore Shipping worth $14,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 67,285 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 8,854 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,738,153 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $33,268,000 after acquiring an additional 24,030 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter worth about $196,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,854 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company's stock.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 0.8%

ASC traded down $0.10 on Monday, reaching $11.61. 305,981 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 518,809. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a one year low of $8.32 and a one year high of $19.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.99. The company has a market cap of $471.40 million, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $72.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI set a $13.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.