Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Reaches New 12-Month High at $17.67

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $17.67 and last traded at $17.67, with a volume of 1139 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ASC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 3.38. The stock has a market cap of $717.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.29 and a 200 day moving average of $15.18.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 29.50%. The business had revenue of $98.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.26 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,476 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 15,476 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 87.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 19,177 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 31,330 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ardmore Shipping

Ardmore Shipping Corporation engages in the seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. The company's fleet consists of 22 owned vessels including 21 Eco-design and 1 Eco-mod vessel, and four chartered-in vessels. It serves oil majors, oil companies, oil and chemical traders, chemical companies, and pooling service providers.