Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Price Down 4.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell 4.2% intraday to $15.23, with about 216,282 shares traded—roughly 71% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $15.00, based on 1 Strong Buy, 2 Buy and 2 Hold ratings.
• Ardmore beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.28 (vs. $0.27) and revenue of $82.91M (vs. $51.0M), pays a $0.09 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.36, yield 2.4%), and shows low leverage (debt/equity 0.20) with strong liquidity ratios.

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) shares dropped 4.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $15.14 and last traded at $15.23. Approximately 216,282 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 749,200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Ardmore Shipping from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.33 and a quick ratio of 3.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $622.76 million, a PE ratio of 17.18 and a beta of -0.16.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $51.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 14.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,241 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% in 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 last quarter. 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.

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