Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Trading Down 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC)’s stock price traded down 3.2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $12.01 and last traded at $12.03. 107,241 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 374,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The firm has a market cap of $515.49 million, a PE ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $12.17 and its 200-day moving average is $16.76.

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 was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.84%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 261.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 62.22% of the stock is owned by 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.