Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Position Raised by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,355 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 6,553 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Ardmore Shipping worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 322.0% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 72.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $11.85 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $495.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.53 and its 200 day moving average is $18.85. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 1 year low of $11.59 and a 1 year high of $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 3.26.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

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.