Private Management Group Inc. Has $14.97 Million Stake in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,068,350 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 145,463 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $14,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ASC. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at about $618,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,033,000. Flat Footed LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,293,599. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,615,000. Finally, Marnell Management LLC bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,877,000. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ASC shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC opened at $17.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.32. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 52-week low of $10.31 and a 52-week high of $20.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.84 and a current ratio of 5.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $705.87 million, a PE ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.03.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.67% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm had revenue of $116.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.30 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 122.01%.

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.