Janus Henderson Group PLC Buys 7,010 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,467 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.06% of Ardmore Shipping worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 72.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 99,389 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,799,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,934 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASC. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC stock opened at $11.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $474.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.31. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 12 month low of $10.86 and a 12 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.71.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.17%.

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.