Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Price Up 3.3%

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 3.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $16.22 and last traded at $16.16. Approximately 55,486 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 657,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ardmore Shipping Trading Up 4.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $16.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.76. The company has a market cap of $661.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 358,453 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $5,051,000 after acquiring an additional 33,240 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 696,697 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $9,816,000 after acquiring an additional 134,233 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at $146,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at $169,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company's stock.

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.