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

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of Ardmore Shipping stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $227,160.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $671,466.03. The trade was a 25.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

NYSE:ASC opened at $18.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $764.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.03. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 12-month low of $9.18 and a 12-month high of $20.02.

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

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business 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 8.3%. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ticino Wealth acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth about $7,647,000. Marnell Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,877,000. Moore Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,177,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 848.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 324,295 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 290,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,947,000. 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.