Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.6667.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, December 24th.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 0.8%

ASC stock opened at $11.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 4.46 and a quick ratio of 4.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.00 million, a P/E ratio of 15.31 and a beta of -0.08. Ardmore Shipping has a 52-week low of $8.32 and a 52-week high of $13.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.55.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $81.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.10 dividend. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 288.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,310 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 4,684 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 320.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,735 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 5,897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

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.