Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Shares Cross Above 50 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Price breakout: Ardmore Shipping's shares crossed above their 50‑day moving average ($13.94) and traded as high as $15.98, last at $15.88, reflecting a roughly 5.2% intraday gain.
• Analyst sentiment: The stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average target of $15.00 and recent upgrades (including Wall Street Zen from Hold to Buy); the analyst mix is 1 Strong Buy, 2 Buy and 2 Hold.
• Fundamentals and payout: Q4 results beat expectations (EPS $0.28 vs $0.27; revenue $82.91M vs $51M est.), and the company recently paid a $0.09 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.36, ~2.3% yield) with a payout ratio around 40%.

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.94 and traded as high as $15.98. Ardmore Shipping shares last traded at $15.8820, with a volume of 576,443 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 5.2%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $13.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.65. The company has a market capitalization of $646.87 million, a PE ratio of 17.85 and a beta of -0.16. The company has a quick ratio of 3.98, a current ratio of 4.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.00 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 7.02%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Ardmore Shipping's payout ratio is 40.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 7,972 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.