Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 68,190 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 20,765 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ASC. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 322.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 72.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter valued at about $54,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 87.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at about $70,000. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ASC. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 30,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 671,768. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a fifty-two week low of $11.78 and a fifty-two week high of $23.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $815.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $121.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.51 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 36.31% and a return on equity of 24.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 58.24%.

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.