Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 66.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,899 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 11,514 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 228.1% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 3,422 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 255.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 465,777 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,659,000 after purchasing an additional 334,704 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 121,097 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 21,708 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 102,368 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 3,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 54,013 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 16,523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ASC. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASC opened at $10.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 3.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.20. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 1-year low of $8.83 and a 1-year high of $23.44. The firm has a market cap of $411.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.24.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 32.78% and a return on equity of 20.48%. Analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

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

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.