WINTON GROUP Ltd Acquires Shares of 14,017 Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 14,017 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 696,697 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,816,000 after acquiring an additional 134,233 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 51.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,885,000 after purchasing an additional 182,650 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 15.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 495,593 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,138,000 after purchasing an additional 64,805 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the first quarter worth $714,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the first quarter worth $459,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC opened at $17.60 on Thursday. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a twelve month low of $11.78 and a twelve month high of $23.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $715.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 36.31% and a return on equity of 24.26%. The firm had revenue of $121.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.51 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Ardmore Shipping’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

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.