Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Takes $1.03 Million Position in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 67,765 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASC. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at $618,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,170,000. Ticino Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,647,000. Marnell Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,877,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 18.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,736,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,484,000 after purchasing an additional 266,275 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 2.6%

Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $16.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $670.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.21 and a 200-day moving average of $15.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 4.84. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a one year low of $10.17 and a one year high of $20.02.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $116.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.30 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 29.67%.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 19.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ardmore Shipping from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Evercore set a $19.00 target price on Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ardmore Shipping from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardmore Shipping

In other news, Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $227,160.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $671,466.03. This represents a 25.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total value of $315,448.26. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,842.74. This trade represents a 21.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $613,488 over the last three months.

Ardmore Shipping Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a Bermuda-based provider of seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products. The company owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including medium-range (MR), long-range 2 (LR2) and Aframax vessels. Ardmore Shipping focuses on the ocean carriage of clean and dirty petroleum products under time charters, bareboat charters and spot voyages, serving a diverse customer base that includes major oil companies and trading houses.

Since its founding in 2005, Ardmore Shipping has grown its fleet through newbuilding contracts, second-hand acquisitions and fleet renewals, aiming to maintain a high quality, fuel-efficient profile.