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

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from five analysts (2 hold, 2 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $17 and recent upgrades including Evercore's $19 target.
• Earnings beat: Ardmore reported $0.28 EPS vs. $0.27 expected and revenue of $82.91M vs. $51M expected, while the stock trades near its 52‑week high (~$18.14) and the company has a market cap of ~$738.6M.
• Ardmore recently paid a reduced quarterly dividend of $0.09 (annualized $0.36, ~2.0% yield), but maintains strong liquidity (quick ratio 3.98, current ratio 4.33), low leverage (debt/equity 0.20) and ~62% institutional ownership with several funds increasing stakes.

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.00.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ASC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Evercore set a $19.00 price target on Ardmore Shipping in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Up 2.3%

Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $18.14 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $15.61 and its 200-day moving average is $13.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 4.33. Ardmore Shipping has a 1 year low of $9.18 and a 1 year high of $18.17. The company has a market cap of $738.64 million, a P/E ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 0.03.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 7.02%. The firm had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $51.00 million.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

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

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

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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