Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) PT Raised to $22.00

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

ASC has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 15th.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE ASC opened at $15.88 on Friday. 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 has a 52 week low of $11.59 and a 52 week high of $17.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $645.20 million, a PE ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.88.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $98.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.26 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase 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 yield of 5.29%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at $423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 291,861 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,797,000 after buying an additional 55,813 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 35,214 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 3,108 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 45,205 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 26,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth $183,000. 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.