Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Share Price Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.81 and traded as low as $11.40. Ardmore Shipping shares last traded at $11.6750, with a volume of 660,011 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Zacks Research cut Ardmore Shipping from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.67.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 1.7%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.45. The stock has a market cap of $474.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a current ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 11.50%.The business had revenue of $81.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.38 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASC. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 288.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,310 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 4,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 320.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,735 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 5,897 shares during the period. 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.