Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Price

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 40.50% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

ASC traded up $0.16 on Thursday, hitting $12.10. The company had a trading volume of 390,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 643,497. The stock has a market cap of $506.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 3.26. Ardmore Shipping has a 1-year low of $11.85 and a 1-year high of $23.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.12.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 72.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 322.0% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 5.8% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 22,248 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 1.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 99,389 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ardmore Shipping

Ardmore Shipping Corporation engages in the seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. The company's fleet consists of 22 owned vessels including 21 Eco-design and 1 Eco-mod vessel, and four chartered-in vessels. It serves oil majors, oil companies, oil and chemical traders, chemical companies, and pooling service providers.