Kirsi Tikka Sells 12,000 Shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of Ardmore Shipping stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total transaction of $227,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $671,466.03. This trade represents a 25.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 0.1%

ASC stock opened at $18.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.12 and a 200 day moving average of $13.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $764.67 million, a PE ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a quick ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 52 week low of $9.18 and a 52 week high of $20.02.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $87.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.08 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 9.63%.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 27.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,736,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,484,000 after purchasing an additional 266,275 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,662,000 after purchasing an additional 32,450 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 18,646 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $37,399,000 after purchasing an additional 24,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ardmore Shipping

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.