Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Short Interest Down 8.0% in March

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 984,300 shares, a decline of 8.0% from the March 15th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 661,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ASC traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.94. 233,654 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 649,426. Ardmore Shipping has a 1 year low of $11.59 and a 1 year high of $17.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.21 and a 200 day moving average of $14.84. The stock has a market cap of $647.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $98.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.27%. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASC has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 358,453 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,051,000 after buying an additional 33,240 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 696,697 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,816,000 after buying an additional 134,233 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth about $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

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.