Private Trust Co. NA Makes New Investment in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,695 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 322.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 72.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $11.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $466.96 million, a P/E ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.91 and a 200-day moving average of $18.53. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 1 year low of $11.08 and a 1 year high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ASC. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research 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 stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.