Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) shares passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.98 and traded as low as $16.16. Ardmore Shipping shares last traded at $16.4410, with a volume of 474,011 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $19.00 price objective on Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.35. The company has a current ratio of 4.87, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $669.64 million and a P/E ratio of 12.36.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 18.00%.The firm had revenue of $87.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.08 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.29%.

Insider Activity at Ardmore Shipping

In related news, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total value of $315,448.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 60,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,842.74. The trade was a 21.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total value of $152,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 60,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,144,943.73. The trade was a 11.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $766,048 in the last three months.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,033,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 93.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 139,639 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after buying an additional 67,473 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 184,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,819,000 after buying an additional 55,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,736,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,484,000 after buying an additional 266,275 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a Bermuda-based provider of seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products. The company owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including medium-range (MR), long-range 2 (LR2) and Aframax vessels. Ardmore Shipping focuses on the ocean carriage of clean and dirty petroleum products under time charters, bareboat charters and spot voyages, serving a diverse customer base that includes major oil companies and trading houses.

Since its founding in 2005, Ardmore Shipping has grown its fleet through newbuilding contracts, second-hand acquisitions and fleet renewals, aiming to maintain a high quality, fuel-efficient profile.