EntryPoint Capital LLC Takes $258,000 Position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 21,211 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC owned about 0.05% of Ardmore Shipping at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter worth about $123,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,491,507 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,122,000 after buying an additional 101,229 shares during the period. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 41,728 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 9,716 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,206 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 9,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ASC opened at $10.20 on Friday. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a twelve month low of $8.83 and a twelve month high of $23.44. The company has a quick ratio of 3.86, a current ratio of 4.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.85. The firm has a market cap of $412.44 million, a PE ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.23.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 32.78% and a return on equity of 20.48%. Analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

About Ardmore Shipping

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.