Stifel Financial Corp Sells 4,123 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its stake in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 11.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 4,123 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASC. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 58.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 131,073 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 48,598 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,164,000. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 217.5% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 565,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,232,000 after buying an additional 387,240 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,124,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,343,000 after acquiring an additional 241,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $799,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASC. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 1.2 %

ASC stock opened at $11.97 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $500.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a twelve month low of $10.86 and a twelve month high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.17%.

Ardmore Shipping 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.