Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

ASC stock opened at $18.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $738.03 million, a PE ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 0.05. Ardmore Shipping has a 12 month low of $10.31 and a 12 month high of $20.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.48. The company has a current ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 4.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.67% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The company had revenue of $116.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.30 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.4%. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 122.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 7,972 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 7,364 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is currently 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.