Ardmore Shipping Co. Plans Dividend of $0.38 (NYSE:ASC)

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) declared a dividend on Wednesday, July 31st, NASDAQ reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of 0.38 per share by the shipping company on Friday, September 13th. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th.

Ardmore Shipping has increased its dividend payment by an average of 184.4% annually over the last three years. Ardmore Shipping has a payout ratio of 43.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ardmore Shipping to earn $2.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.1%.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Ardmore Shipping stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.67. 1,175,245 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 682,466. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.52. Ardmore Shipping has a 12 month low of $11.78 and a 12 month high of $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market cap of $880.45 million, a PE ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.39.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The shipping company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.05. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 29.15%. The firm had revenue of $106.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

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.