Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ASC. Evercore set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $17.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $706.79 million, a PE ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 5.45. Ardmore Shipping has a one year low of $10.17 and a one year high of $20.02.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. 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 return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 29.67%.The firm had revenue of $116.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.30 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.2%. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is presently 60.23%.

Insider Activity at Ardmore Shipping

In other Ardmore Shipping news, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total transaction of $315,448.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 60,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,842.74. This trade represents a 21.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $227,160.00. Following the sale, the director owned 35,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $671,466.03. This trade represents a 25.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $766,048.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% in the 2nd 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. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter valued at about $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

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.