Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Downgraded by Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $17.00 price objective on the shipping company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $24.00.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Ardmore Shipping stock opened at $14.81 on Wednesday. Ardmore Shipping has a 52 week low of $12.69 and a 52 week high of $23.44. The firm has a market cap of $601.69 million, a P/E ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.36.

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

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.26%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,400,981 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $31,564,000 after buying an additional 449,200 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 27.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,124,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,343,000 after purchasing an additional 241,748 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 51.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,885,000 after purchasing an additional 182,650 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth $4,012,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 135.1% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 308,200 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,936,000 after purchasing an additional 177,130 shares in the last quarter. 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.