Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $20.03 and last traded at $19.1550, with a volume of 1049829 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.98 and its 200 day moving average is $13.62. The stock has a market cap of $780.18 million, a PE ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 4.87.

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

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is currently 27.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ardmore Shipping news, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total transaction of $152,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 60,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,144,943.73. This represents a 11.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 77,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 18,500 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,701 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 234,987 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after buying an additional 16,458 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 311,162 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,987,000 after buying an additional 58,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 7,972 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.