Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Trading 6.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC)’s share price shot up 6.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.23 and last traded at $15.1750. Approximately 492,200 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 704,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ASC shares. Evercore set a $19.00 price objective on Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 4.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.86. The company has a market cap of $607.81 million, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.04.

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

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.5%. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.29%.

Insider Activity at Ardmore Shipping

In other Ardmore Shipping news, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total transaction of $152,560.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 60,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,144,943.73. This represents a 11.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total transaction of $315,448.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 60,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,842.74. This trade represents a 21.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $766,048 in the last three months.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

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

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.