Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

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

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 2.0 %

ASC opened at $17.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $729.66 million, a PE ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.17. Ardmore Shipping has a 1-year low of $11.78 and a 1-year high of $23.44. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.46%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth $454,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at $205,000. Invst LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 66.3% during the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 33,542 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 13,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 18.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 106,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,409,000 after acquiring an additional 16,633 shares in the last quarter. 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.