Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Price Up 7.5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Ardmore Shipping's shares rose by 7.5%, reaching a last traded price of $13.34, despite a significant decline in trading volume compared to average levels.
• Multiple analysts have maintained a consensus "Buy" rating for Ardmore Shipping, with price targets ranging from $13.00 to $14.00.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.05 to $0.07, reflecting positive growth in its payout ratio, now at 27.18%.

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 7.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $13.09 and last traded at $13.34. 111,236 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 634,763 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $12.67.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $11.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $542.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.12. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $44.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.07 dividend. 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. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 545.0% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,683 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 3,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at $38,000. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.