Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $3.48 Million Position in Ardmore Shipping Corporation $ASC

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 292,732 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 94,256 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.72% of Ardmore Shipping worth $3,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 6.3% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,263 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter worth $371,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth $21,019,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter worth about $334,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,642,656 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,769,000 after purchasing an additional 69,788 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ASC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Ardmore Shipping from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.67.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of ASC stock opened at $10.50 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.43. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a one year low of $8.32 and a one year high of $13.85. The stock has a market cap of $426.55 million, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 4.46 and a quick ratio of 4.08.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.03. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The company had revenue of $81.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Ardmore Shipping’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

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.