Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.95 and last traded at $13.72, with a volume of 164715 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ASC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Evercore boosted their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 4.33. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.89. The company has a market cap of $560.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of -0.09.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.00 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 7.02% and a net margin of 13.22%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the third quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,241 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.