Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Short Interest Update

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, an increase of 21.2% from the August 15th total of 2,030,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 615,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of 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 downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 322.0% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth $47,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 72.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of ASC remained flat at $17.67 during trading hours on Tuesday. The company had a trading volume of 136,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 647,850. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.18. Ardmore Shipping has a 52-week low of $11.78 and a 52-week high of $23.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $717.88 million, a P/E ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 36.31%. 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 firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.60%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 58.24%.

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.