Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Sets New 1-Year High at $17.67

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ASC shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $715.70 million, a PE ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 3.38.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 EPS 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 net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. Ardmore Shipping’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 55,813 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,108 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 147.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 45,205 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 26,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

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.