Short Interest in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Grows By 8.0%

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,290,000 shares, an increase of 8.0% from the December 31st total of 2,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 829,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of ASC traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $12.07. 29,511 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 730,914. Ardmore Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $10.86 and a fifty-two week high of $23.44. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $11.85 and a 200-day moving average of $15.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $505.01 million, a P/E ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.25.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 20.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 58.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 131,073 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 48,598 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter valued at about $1,164,000. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 217.5% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 565,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,232,000 after purchasing an additional 387,240 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter valued at about $799,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 40.2% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 24,467 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.