Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Upgraded at Fearnley Fonds

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) was upgraded by analysts at Fearnley Fonds to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ASC. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.67.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASC opened at $18.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $735.15 million, a P/E ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Ardmore Shipping has a 1-year low of $11.78 and a 1-year high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $121.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.51 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 36.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 31,330 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 696,697 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,816,000 after acquiring an additional 134,233 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter valued at about $166,000. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

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.