Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) by 18.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,736,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 266,275 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 4.26% of Ardmore Shipping worth $26,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $37,399,000 after purchasing an additional 24,244 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 1.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,298,294 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $15,411,000 after buying an additional 16,524 shares during the period. Ticino Wealth bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at $7,647,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 7.0% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 496,757 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,769,000 after buying an additional 32,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 436,196 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after buying an additional 82,627 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of ASC stock opened at $16.65 on Thursday. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 1 year low of $10.17 and a 1 year high of $20.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.03 million, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 4.87.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.05. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 18.00%.The company had revenue of $116.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.34 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 117.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total value of $152,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 60,039 shares in the company, valued at $1,144,943.73. This trade represents a 11.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total transaction of $315,448.26. Following the transaction, the director owned 60,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,842.74. This represents a 21.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $766,048.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore set a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

About Ardmore Shipping

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.