EntryPoint Capital LLC Acquires New Holdings in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 21,211 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 261.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 302.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 228.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 3,422 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of ASC stock opened at $10.20 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.56 and a 200 day moving average of $12.85. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 1 year low of $8.83 and a 1 year high of $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.24 and a quick ratio of 3.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.23.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 32.78%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 10.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

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.