JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Stock Position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 32.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 518,189 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 249,642 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.24% of Ardmore Shipping worth $9,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ASC. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASC opened at $13.56 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.23. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a one year low of $10.86 and a one year high of $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $567.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.28.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.31%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Fearnley Fonds raised Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research report 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

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.