9,228 Shares in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Bought by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,228 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 322.0% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at about $47,000. CWM LLC raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ASC opened at $17.32 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.24. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 12-month low of $11.78 and a 12-month high of $23.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.46 million, a P/E ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $121.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.51 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 36.31%. Ardmore Shipping’s quarterly revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.78%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is presently 58.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

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.