Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Shares Down 5.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) fell 5.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $16.72 and last traded at $16.7170. 270,578 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 709,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 3.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $656.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.86 and a 200-day moving average of $14.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 4.87.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $87.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.08 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.29%.

Insider Activity at Ardmore Shipping

In related news, Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $227,160.00. Following the sale, the director owned 35,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $671,466.03. The trade was a 25.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total value of $315,448.26. Following the transaction, the director owned 60,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,842.74. This trade represents a 21.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $766,048.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 10.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,219 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,701 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 23,047 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 361,658 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.