Insider Selling: Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Director Sells $315,448.26 in Stock

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Director Curtis Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total transaction of $315,448.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,842.74. The trade was a 21.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 2.0%

Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $19.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $785.64 million, a P/E ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.44 and its 200-day moving average is $13.99. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 1 year low of $9.18 and a 1 year high of $20.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 4.87.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $87.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.08 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 9.63%.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.1%. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 27.07%.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 7,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 7,364 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ASC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

About Ardmore Shipping

Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a Bermuda-based provider of seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products. The company owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including medium-range (MR), long-range 2 (LR2) and Aframax vessels. Ardmore Shipping focuses on the ocean carriage of clean and dirty petroleum products under time charters, bareboat charters and spot voyages, serving a diverse customer base that includes major oil companies and trading houses.

Since its founding in 2005, Ardmore Shipping has grown its fleet through newbuilding contracts, second-hand acquisitions and fleet renewals, aiming to maintain a high quality, fuel-efficient profile.