Ardmore Shipping’s (ASC) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $15.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 20.39% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.67.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

NYSE:ASC traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.46. 507,066 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 610,857. Ardmore Shipping has a 12 month low of $8.32 and a 12 month high of $13.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $12.07 and a 200 day moving average of $10.81. The stock has a market cap of $506.13 million, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.01.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $81.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.38 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Ardmore Shipping’s revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,263 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 6.9% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 430,441 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 27,907 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 3.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 35,458 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter worth approximately $4,683,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 5.9% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 879,760 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,613,000 after buying an additional 49,340 shares during the period. 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.