Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 8.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Ardmore Shipping worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 322.0% in 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. CWM LLC raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 72.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter worth $54,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 87.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 2,042 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

ASC stock opened at $17.44 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $729.69 million, a P/E ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.35. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 1 year low of $11.78 and a 1 year high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $80.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.72%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 58.24%.

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.