Savant Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 22,152 Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 22,152 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000. Savant Capital LLC owned 0.05% of Ardmore Shipping at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 261.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 2,906.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,906 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 829.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,558 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter worth about $139,000. 62.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $10.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.84 and a 200 day moving average of $14.60. The firm has a market cap of $439.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.25. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 1 year low of $10.22 and a 1 year high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 36.22% and a return on equity of 23.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.