Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Holdings Increased by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) by 688.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,990 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 81,203 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.22% of Ardmore Shipping worth $1,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 255.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 465,777 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,659,000 after buying an additional 334,704 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,413,554 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $17,175,000 after acquiring an additional 279,403 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,204,828 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $14,639,000 after purchasing an additional 168,731 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 830,420 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,090,000 after purchasing an additional 161,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,491,507 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $18,122,000 after purchasing an additional 101,229 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ASC. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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 reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASC traded down $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.72. 270,348 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 706,447. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $9.91 and a 200-day moving average of $12.05. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 12 month low of $8.32 and a 12 month high of $23.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.77 million, a P/E ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.16.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid 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 payout ratio is 10.46%.

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.