Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ASC. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

NYSE:ASC opened at $17.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.18. Ardmore Shipping has a 1 year low of $11.78 and a 1 year high of $23.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.19. The company has a market cap of $708.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.35.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $121.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.51 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 36.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 58.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 322.0% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 72.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

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.