Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Ardmore Shipping Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from five brokerages, with an average 12-month price target estimated at $12.67.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.22, exceeding the consensus estimate and generated revenue of $72.05 million despite a 40.6% year-over-year decline.
• Ardmore Shipping increased its quarterly dividend to $0.07 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%.

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.6667.

ASC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $13.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

ASC opened at $13.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $529.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.12. Ardmore Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $8.32 and a fifty-two week high of $18.79. The company's 50-day moving average price is $10.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.15. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $72.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Ardmore Shipping's revenue was down 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 545.0% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,683 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 3,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company's stock.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

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.

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