Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Dropped to Buy by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Ardmore Shipping from “strong buy” to “buy,” though analysts overall maintain a “Buy” consensus with an average price target of $18.50.
• Ardmore Shipping shares opened at $20.97, near their 12-month high of $21.34. The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.18 in EPS versus the $1.11 consensus and revenue of $116.21 million.
• Institutional ownership stands at 62.22%, with BlackRock and Wellington Management among investors establishing new positions and Renaissance Technologies increasing its stake.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

ASC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Ardmore Shipping from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $18.50.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE ASC opened at $20.97 on Friday. Ardmore Shipping has a 12-month low of $10.31 and a 12-month high of $21.34. The company has a market capitalization of $854.11 million, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 4.84. The firm's 50-day moving average is $18.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.54.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.67% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The business had revenue of $116.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.30 million.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth $53,878,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,462 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $37,399,000 after purchasing an additional 24,244 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at $27,780,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 18.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,736,632 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $26,484,000 after purchasing an additional 266,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flat Footed LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at $13,293,599. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation NYSE: ASC is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates a fleet of product and chemical tankers. The company provides seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as certain chemicals and other liquid cargoes.

Ardmore's vessels primarily serve international trade routes, transporting cargoes between major energy and industrial markets. Its operations include commercial management, chartering and technical management of its fleet, with an emphasis on safe, efficient and environmentally responsible maritime transportation.

Founded in 2010, Ardmore Shipping is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

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