Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Shares Down 5.4% – Should You Sell?

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)’s share price traded down 5.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $15.29 and last traded at $15.35. 383,420 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 619,830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.33.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.50. The stock has a market cap of $601.28 million, a PE ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.36.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $121.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.51 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 36.31% and a return on equity of 24.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ardmore Shipping Co. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.27%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 696,697 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,816,000 after buying an additional 134,233 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at $166,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at $376,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 83.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,440 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 9,325 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.