Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ardmore Shipping to “strong buy” from “buy,” while Weiss Ratings downgraded it to “hold.” Overall, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $17.00 price target.
• Ardmore Shipping shares opened at $18.12, up 0.6%, with a market capitalization of approximately $738 million and a P/E ratio of 7.00.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.18 in EPS versus the $1.11 consensus and $116.21 million in revenue versus estimates of $86.30 million; institutional investors own 62.22% of the stock.

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

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $18.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 4.84. Ardmore Shipping has a 1-year low of $10.31 and a 1-year high of $20.02. The business's fifty day moving average price is $16.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.48. The company has a market capitalization of $738.05 million, a P/E ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 0.05.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 77,769 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 18,500 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,701 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 7.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 234,987 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,301,000 after buying an additional 16,458 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 23.1% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 311,162 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,987,000 after acquiring an additional 58,330 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 7,972 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is currently 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.

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