Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 112,203 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 562,373 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 112,203 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.34% of Ardmore Shipping worth $10,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 2,906.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company's stock.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC stock traded up $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $12.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 660,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 683,487. The company has a market capitalization of $520.10 million, a P/E ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.31. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 12-month low of $10.86 and a 12-month high of $23.44. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $12.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.76. 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 Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping's payout ratio is 20.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASC. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut Ardmore Shipping from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised Ardmore Shipping to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

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.