Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.6667.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ASC shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $13.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $532.33 million, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of -0.09. Ardmore Shipping has a 52 week low of $8.32 and a 52 week high of $13.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.84. The company has a quick ratio of 4.08, a current ratio of 4.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The company had revenue of $82.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.00 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 320.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,735 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 5,897 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.