10,125 Shares in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Purchased by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,125 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 261.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 302.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 228.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 3,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASC. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $10.16 on Tuesday. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 52 week low of $8.83 and a 52 week high of $23.44. The company has a market capitalization of $410.82 million, a PE ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.86, a current ratio of 4.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 32.78%. As a group, analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 10.46%.

About Ardmore Shipping

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.