Raymond James & Associates Purchases Shares of 10,004 Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Raymond James & Associates purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,004 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth about $423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 291,861 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,797,000 after buying an additional 55,813 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 147.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 45,205 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth $183,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 24.9% during the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 183,933 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 36,629 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC opened at $16.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.24 and its 200-day moving average is $15.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 3.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.32 million, a PE ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.38. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a fifty-two week low of $11.59 and a fifty-two week high of $17.17.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $98.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.26 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ASC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday.

Ardmore Shipping Company 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.