Private Management Group Inc. Sells 95,884 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Private Management Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,609,519 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 95,884 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. owned approximately 3.77% of Ardmore Shipping worth $22,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tejara Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter valued at $1,171,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 289.8% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 78,319 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 58,228 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 291,861 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,797,000 after acquiring an additional 55,813 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter valued at $580,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 183,933 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after purchasing an additional 36,629 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASC. StockNews.com lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 15th.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Ardmore Shipping stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $16.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 429,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 642,428. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 12 month low of $11.59 and a 12 month high of $17.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 3.38. The company has a market capitalization of $663.08 million, a PE ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.19 and a 200 day moving average of $14.97.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $98.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.26 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

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.