Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Earns Hold (C) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated a "hold (c)" rating for Ardmore Shipping (NYSE: ASC), reflecting a cautious outlook based on recent stock performance.
• Ardmore Shipping reported earnings of $0.22 per share for the last quarter, which exceeded estimates and had a revenue of $72.05 million, despite a 40.6% decline year-over-year.
• Currently, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $12.67, influenced by mixed ratings from various brokerages.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reiterated by Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ASC. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $13.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.67.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of ASC stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.22. 554,182 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 617,724. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.57. Ardmore Shipping has a 52-week low of $8.32 and a 52-week high of $15.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $496.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a current ratio of 3.88, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $72.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.92 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 14.48%.The business's revenue was down 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter worth approximately $394,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 545.0% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,683 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,112 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 430,441 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 27,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 879,760 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $8,613,000 after purchasing an additional 49,340 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ardmore Shipping

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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