Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Price Target Cut to $11.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) had its price target decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of ASC stock opened at $10.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.84. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Ardmore Shipping has a 12 month low of $10.22 and a 12 month high of $23.44. The company has a market capitalization of $436.29 million, a P/E ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.25.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 36.22%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is 23.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 131,073 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after purchasing an additional 48,598 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,164,000. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 217.5% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 565,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,232,000 after purchasing an additional 387,240 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter valued at $799,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,467 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.