Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Sets New 12-Month High at $19.41

Shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC – Get Rating) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $19.41 and last traded at $18.93, with a volume of 455649 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ASC shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $13.17.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $743.30 million, a P/E ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.12.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 14th. The shipping company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 31.06% and a return on equity of 38.49%. The company had revenue of $93.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $83.94 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 27th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,375 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 138,713 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the period. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,173 shares during the period. Finally, Ellevest Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. 64.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

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Ardmore Shipping Corp. engages in the provision of seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. It also owns and operates a fleet of tankers. The company was founded by Anthony Gurnee on April 15, 2010 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.