Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Shares Down 5.4% – Should You Sell?

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)’s stock price was down 5.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $15.29 and last traded at $15.35. Approximately 383,420 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 619,830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ASC shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.33.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.36. The firm has a market cap of $601.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $80.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.27%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 2,906.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,906 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter valued at about $139,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 166.7% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 78,902 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 52,230 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 4,346 shares during 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.