Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Ardmore Shipping Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from five brokerages, with an average price target of $12.67.
• The company recently reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.18, while also posting a revenue of $72.05 million, significantly higher than expected.
• Ardmore Shipping announced a dividend of $0.05 per share, with a notable dividend yield of 205.0% and a payout ratio of 27.18%.

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

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASC. Evercore ISI set a $13.00 price objective 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 report on Wednesday. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,263 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 35,458 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew 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 worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 25,570 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 39,202 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company's stock.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 0.2%

ASC stock opened at $11.3940 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.87 million, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a current ratio of 3.88. Ardmore Shipping has a one year low of $8.32 and a one year high of $19.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.01.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $72.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Ardmore Shipping's revenue for the quarter was down 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 205.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.18%.

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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