Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,163 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Invst LLC increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 33,542 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 13,376 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 106,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 16,633 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $16.68 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.40. The company has a market capitalization of $677.66 million, a PE ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 52 week low of $12.69 and a 52 week high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $121.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.51 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 36.31%. Ardmore Shipping’s quarterly revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 58.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Fearnley Fonds raised Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.67.

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.