Short Interest in Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Declines By 19.0%
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyArdmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,977,677 shares, a drop of 19.0% from the November 30th total of 2,441,732 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 559,679 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 559,679 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ASC shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.67.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ardmore Shipping
Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance
ASC traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.59. The company had a trading volume of 560,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,511. Ardmore Shipping has a 12-month low of $8.32 and a 12-month high of $13.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $12.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.42. The stock has a market cap of $430.17 million, a PE ratio of 13.58 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 4.46.
Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 11.50%.The company had revenue of $81.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This is a positive change from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,263 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 100.3% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 186,301 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after buying an additional 93,311 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 77,769 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 18,500 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 451,387 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,419,000 after buying an additional 16,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,701 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.
Ardmore Shipping Company Profile
Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a Bermuda-based provider of seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products. The company owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including medium-range (MR), long-range 2 (LR2) and Aframax vessels. Ardmore Shipping focuses on the ocean carriage of clean and dirty petroleum products under time charters, bareboat charters and spot voyages, serving a diverse customer base that includes major oil companies and trading houses.
Since its founding in 2005, Ardmore Shipping has grown its fleet through newbuilding contracts, second-hand acquisitions and fleet renewals, aiming to maintain a high quality, fuel-efficient profile.