Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Given New $21.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) had its price target upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Ardmore Shipping from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ASC opened at $20.25 on Wednesday. Ardmore Shipping has a 1 year low of $11.59 and a 1 year high of $20.52. The stock has a market cap of $822.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.44 and a 200-day moving average of $15.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 3.38 and a current ratio of 3.75.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The shipping company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.05. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 29.50%. The company had revenue of $106.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter valued at $54,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 87.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter worth about $108,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter worth about $141,000. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. 62.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.