Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ASC. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Thursday, February 15th.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

ASC stock opened at $17.01 on Monday. Ardmore Shipping has a 52-week low of $11.59 and a 52-week high of $17.05. 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 cap of $691.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.08.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 29.50%. The firm had revenue of $98.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.26 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth $161,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 39.9% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 32,106 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 9,157 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the third quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the third quarter worth approximately $580,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 50,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 3,675 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is 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.