Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Trading 3.3% Higher

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)’s stock price was up 3.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.22 and last traded at $16.16. Approximately 55,486 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 657,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASC. StockNews.com raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 15th.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.78. The company has a quick ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $645.00 million, a P/E ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.38.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $98.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.26 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. Ardmore Shipping’s revenue was down 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the first quarter worth $36,000. Eqis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 253.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,621 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 3,315 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 87.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the first quarter worth approximately $68,000. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.