Wellington Management Group LLP Invests $27.78 Million in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Key Points

• Wellington Management acquired 1.98 million Ardmore Shipping shares worth approximately $27.78 million, giving it a 4.87% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 62.22% of the company.
• Ardmore Shipping exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.18 in EPS versus the $1.11 consensus and revenue of $116.21 million versus estimates of $86.30 million.
• The company doubled its quarterly dividend to $0.79 per share, implying a 17.4% annualized yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $17.00 target price, below the reported $18.12 opening price.

Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,982,894 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $27,780,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 4.87% of Ardmore Shipping as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,994,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter valued at $582,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth $2,352,000. Flat Footed LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth $13,293,599. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth $665,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ASC. Weiss Ratings cut Ardmore Shipping from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Ardmore Shipping from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

NYSE ASC opened at $18.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.84, a current ratio of 5.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $738.03 million, a PE ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 0.05. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 12-month low of $10.31 and a 12-month high of $20.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.48.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.67% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The company had revenue of $116.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.30 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.4%. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio is 122.01%.

About Ardmore Shipping

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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