Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,561 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 8,087 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 261.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying 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 third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 2,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 829.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,558 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 3,175 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

NYSE ASC opened at $12.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $502.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.48. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 12-month low of $10.86 and a 12-month high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 decreased their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

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.