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

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

A number of other analysts have also commented on ASC. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of ASC opened at $11.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.57. The company has a market cap of $492.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.05. Ardmore Shipping has a 52-week low of $11.59 and a 52-week high of $23.44.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.17%.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 51.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,885,000 after buying an additional 182,650 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 15.0% in the first 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. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter worth approximately $459,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,149,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 82.7% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 241,455 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,440,000 after purchasing an additional 109,312 shares during the period. 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.