Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Shares Cross Above 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC)’s stock price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.94 and traded as high as $15.98. Ardmore Shipping shares last traded at $15.8820, with a volume of 576,443 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 5.2%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.65. The company has a market capitalization of $646.87 million, a PE ratio of 17.85 and a beta of -0.16. The company has a quick ratio of 3.98, a current ratio of 4.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.00 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 7.02%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 40.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 7,972 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a Bermuda-based provider of seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products. The company owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including medium-range (MR), long-range 2 (LR2) and Aframax vessels. Ardmore Shipping focuses on the ocean carriage of clean and dirty petroleum products under time charters, bareboat charters and spot voyages, serving a diverse customer base that includes major oil companies and trading houses.

Since its founding in 2005, Ardmore Shipping has grown its fleet through newbuilding contracts, second-hand acquisitions and fleet renewals, aiming to maintain a high quality, fuel-efficient profile.