Sei Investments Co. Lowers Stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 14.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 422,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 73,028 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $9,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 47.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,400,981 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,564,000 after buying an additional 449,200 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,124,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,343,000 after acquiring an additional 241,748 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 696,697 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,816,000 after purchasing an additional 134,233 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 51.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,885,000 after purchasing an additional 182,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 135.1% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 308,200 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,936,000 after purchasing an additional 177,130 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ASC. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on 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 Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. 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 research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

ASC stock opened at $17.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.25. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 52-week low of $11.78 and a 52-week high of $23.44. The company has a market capitalization of $729.66 million, a PE ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $121.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.51 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 36.31% and a return on equity of 24.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.46%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.24%.

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.