Flat Footed LLC Sells 244,724 Shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Flat Footed LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) by 19.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,004,696 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 244,724 shares during the period. Ardmore Shipping makes up approximately 1.7% of Flat Footed LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Flat Footed LLC’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $15,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,736,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,484,000 after purchasing an additional 266,275 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,662,000 after buying an additional 32,450 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 17.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 18,646 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 2,799 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $37,399,000 after buying an additional 24,244 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter worth $218,000. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total transaction of $315,448.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 60,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,842.74. This represents a 21.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $227,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $671,466.03. This trade represents a 25.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $766,048.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of ASC stock opened at $16.61 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.87, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 1 year low of $10.06 and a 1 year high of $20.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $676.32 million, a P/E ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 0.04.

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

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $19.00 target price on Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping 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.