Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Short Interest Up 47.9% in May

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,440,000 shares, a growth of 47.9% from the May 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 653,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASC traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.79. 872,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 745,725. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.94. Ardmore Shipping has a 52-week low of $11.59 and a 52-week high of $23.44. The company has a market cap of $844.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The shipping company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.05. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The business had revenue of $106.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,758,657 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $38,870,000 after buying an additional 56,984 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 606,898 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,551,000 after acquiring an additional 205,245 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 51.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,885,000 after purchasing an additional 182,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 495,593 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,138,000 after purchasing an additional 64,805 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th.

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.