Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ASC. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ASC opened at $15.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.75, a quick ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.86. Ardmore Shipping has a 12-month low of $11.59 and a 12-month high of $17.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $633.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 0.38.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $98.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.26 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 29.50%. The company’s revenue was down 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter worth $423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 23.6% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 291,861 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,797,000 after purchasing an additional 55,813 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 35,214 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 45,205 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 26,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $183,000. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

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.