Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Shares Down 2.7% – Should You Sell?

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)’s share price dropped 2.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $13.15 and last traded at $13.23. Approximately 105,047 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 710,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASC has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 4.9 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.23. The stock has a market cap of $541.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.17%.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 47.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,400,981 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $31,564,000 after acquiring an additional 449,200 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,124,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,343,000 after purchasing an additional 241,748 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 782,368 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $14,161,000 after buying an additional 2,922 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 217.5% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 565,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,232,000 after buying an additional 387,240 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 5.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 207,875 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,763,000 after buying an additional 10,586 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

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.