Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Price Target to $17.00

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) had its price objective trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ASC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASC traded down $0.13 on Thursday, reaching $11.82. 374,767 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 645,139. The firm has a market capitalization of $494.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37. Ardmore Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $11.75 and a fifty-two week high of $23.44. The business’s 50-day moving average is $16.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.07. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.09%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 42.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 322.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth $34,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. 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.