Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Price Down 7.7% – What’s Next?

Shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) traded down 7.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $14.87 and last traded at $14.7080. 410,271 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 689,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 5.7%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.35 and its 200 day moving average is $14.76. The company has a market cap of $611.85 million and a PE ratio of 11.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 4.87 and a quick ratio of 4.43.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $87.92 million for 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.4%. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ardmore Shipping

In other news, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of Ardmore Shipping stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total transaction of $152,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 60,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,144,943.73. This trade represents a 11.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $766,048 in the last 90 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ticino Wealth bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,647,000. Marnell Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter worth $3,877,000. Moore Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at $3,177,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 848.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 324,295 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after buying an additional 290,087 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $26,484,000 after acquiring an additional 266,275 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

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.