Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Holdings Increased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,491,507 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 101,229 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.56% of Ardmore Shipping worth $18,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 261.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 302.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 228.1% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 3,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 829.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,558 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 3,175 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ASC shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

NYSE ASC traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,697,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 704,403. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a fifty-two week low of $8.54 and a fifty-two week high of $23.44. The firm has a market cap of $352.57 million, a P/E ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a quick ratio of 3.86, a current ratio of 4.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.54.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 32.78% and a return on equity of 20.48%. Equities analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.46%.

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.