Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on ASC. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a buy rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE ASC traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.88. 470,974 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 647,042. Ardmore Shipping has a 12 month low of $11.59 and a 12 month high of $17.05. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $645.20 million, a PE ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.86.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The shipping company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $98.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.29%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter worth about $423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 291,861 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,797,000 after acquiring an additional 55,813 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 35,214 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 45,205 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 26,900 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter valued at about $183,000. 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.