147,700 Shares in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Acquired by Glenorchy Capital Ltd

Glenorchy Capital Ltd bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 147,700 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,081,000. Ardmore Shipping accounts for about 0.8% of Glenorchy Capital Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter worth approximately $423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 23.6% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 291,861 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,797,000 after acquiring an additional 55,813 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 35,214 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 147.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 45,205 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 26,900 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the third quarter worth approximately $183,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC stock traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, hitting $16.32. 429,381 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 642,428. The firm has a market cap of $663.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.38. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 52 week low of $11.59 and a 52 week high of $17.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 3.38.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $98.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.26 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. Ardmore Shipping’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ASC. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 15th.

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.