Trexquant Investment LP Has $1.13 Million Position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 688.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,990 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 81,203 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.22% of Ardmore Shipping worth $1,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,491,507 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $18,122,000 after purchasing an additional 101,229 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,413,554 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,175,000 after purchasing an additional 279,403 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,309,826 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,914,000 after purchasing an additional 63,769 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,204,828 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $14,639,000 after purchasing an additional 168,731 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 830,420 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,090,000 after purchasing an additional 161,670 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:ASC opened at $8.74 on Friday. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a twelve month low of $8.32 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 50 day moving average price of $10.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.21. The company has a market cap of $353.37 million, a P/E ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.16.

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

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ardmore Shipping Profile

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.