Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Sells 97,611 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC reduced its stake in Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,018,767 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 97,611 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $10,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 7,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

ASC stock opened at $16.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $675.26 million and a PE ratio of 12.47. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 12-month low of $9.45 and a 12-month high of $20.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.87, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.54.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $87.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.08 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 18.00%.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 117.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore set a $19.00 price target on Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $227,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,471 shares in the company, valued at $671,466.03. This represents a 25.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total value of $152,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 60,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,144,943.73. This trade represents a 11.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $766,048 in the last ninety days.

Ardmore Shipping Company 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.