BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 58,368 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 62.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,762 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 58,368 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.08% of Ardmore Shipping worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASC. CWM LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 99,389 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,799,000 after buying an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,934 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE ASC opened at $11.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.05 million, a PE ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $13.87 and its 200 day moving average is $17.91. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a twelve month low of $10.86 and a twelve month high of $23.44. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

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.