Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Sets New 12-Month High at $17.67

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $17.67 and last traded at $17.67, with a volume of 1139 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASC. StockNews.com raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 3.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.36 and a 200 day moving average of $15.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $715.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 0.36.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The business 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 business earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter worth about $423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 23.6% during the third 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. increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 9.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 45,205 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by 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.