Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

NYSE:ASC opened at $14.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $580.85 million, a P/E ratio of 16.02 and a beta of -0.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.52. Ardmore Shipping has a one year low of $8.32 and a one year high of $16.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.33 and a quick ratio of 3.98.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 7.02%. The company had revenue of $82.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.00 million. Equities analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is presently 40.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 7,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364 shares during the period. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.