Federated Hermes Inc. Has $5.60 Million Stock Position in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 460,825 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,964 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Ardmore Shipping were worth $5,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 255.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 465,777 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,659,000 after purchasing an additional 334,704 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,413,554 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,175,000 after buying an additional 279,403 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 712,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,658,000 after buying an additional 183,393 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $14,639,000 after purchasing an additional 168,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 830,420 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,090,000 after purchasing an additional 161,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

ASC stock opened at $9.32 on Friday. Ardmore Shipping Co. has a 1-year low of $8.32 and a 1-year high of $23.44. The company has a current ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 3.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $377.16 million, a PE ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $9.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.15.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.46%.

Ardmore Shipping Company 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.