Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 10,047 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 84.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,925 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,047 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ASC. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 261.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 829.0% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ASC shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC stock opened at $12.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $502.29 million, a P/E ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.48. 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 current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 3.26.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 20.17%.

Ardmore Shipping Company 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.