Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,097 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,708 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.29% of Ardmore Shipping worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter valued at about $259,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the third quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 33.0% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 69,338 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 17,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 80,449 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 2,252 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $10.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.24 and a quick ratio of 3.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.82. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 12 month low of $8.83 and a 12 month high of $23.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.44 million, a PE ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.23.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 32.78%. Equities analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 10.46%.

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.