Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Price Down 7.7% – Should You Sell?

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) shares traded down 7.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $14.87 and last traded at $14.7080. Approximately 410,271 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 689,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $19.00 target price on shares of 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 report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.87, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $594.43 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.75.

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

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 given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.7%. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 117.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 60,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,842.74. The trade was a 21.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the president owned 60,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,144,943.73. This trade represents a 11.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $766,048 over the last 90 days.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter valued at $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364 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 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.