Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average of $16.27

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) shares crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.27 and traded as low as $16.26. Ardmore Shipping shares last traded at $16.49, with a volume of 503,637 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ardmore Shipping from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 4.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.75, a quick ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $16.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.74. The company has a market capitalization of $639.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.38.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 29.50%. The firm had revenue of $98.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.34%. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping's payout ratio is 30.77%.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Eqis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 253.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,621 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 3,315 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 87.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at $68,000. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.