Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC – Get Rating) by 76.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 532,200 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230,200 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $4,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 398,318 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after buying an additional 5,789 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,739,447 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,828,000 after buying an additional 26,216 shares in the last quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the first quarter valued at $46,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the first quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at $1,200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. TheStreet raised Ardmore Shipping from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $13.17.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 2.3 %

ASC opened at $17.35 on Friday. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 12 month low of $3.81 and a 12 month high of $19.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $693.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.49.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The shipping company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $93.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $83.94 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 38.49% and a net margin of 31.06%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 27th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.25%.

Ardmore Shipping Profile

(Get Rating)

Ardmore Shipping Corp. engages in the provision of seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. It also owns and operates a fleet of tankers. The company was founded by Anthony Gurnee on April 15, 2010 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.