Royce & Associates LP Has $10.09 Million Stock Position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 830,420 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 161,670 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 1.98% of Ardmore Shipping worth $10,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 261.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 302.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,422 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 829.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company's stock.

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Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

ASC traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,142,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 676,639. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.24 and a quick ratio of 3.86. The firm has a market cap of $405.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.17. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a one year low of $8.83 and a one year high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.00.

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.