Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $20.03 and last traded at $19.1550, with a volume of 1049829 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $19.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 4.87. The firm has a market cap of $780.18 million, a PE ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.03.

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

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total value of $152,560.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 60,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,144,943.73. This represents a 11.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 7,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew 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 valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.