Ardmore Shipping’s (ASC) Buy Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reiterated their buy rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a $17.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of ASC stock opened at $10.43 on Thursday. Ardmore Shipping has a 12-month low of $10.22 and a 12-month high of $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $436.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.72.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 36.22%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 20.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 217.5% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 565,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,232,000 after purchasing an additional 387,240 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 255.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 465,777 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,659,000 after buying an additional 334,704 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Ardmore Shipping by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,413,554 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,175,000 after buying an additional 279,403 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 712,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,658,000 after buying an additional 183,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,204,828 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $14,639,000 after acquiring an additional 168,731 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.