Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Shares Pass Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.24 and traded as low as $11.82. Ardmore Shipping shares last traded at $12.12, with a volume of 650,141 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.24. The company has a market capitalization of $507.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.31.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 20.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASC. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 131,073 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 48,598 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth $1,164,000. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 217.5% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 565,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,232,000 after buying an additional 387,240 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 241,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter valued at about $799,000. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.