Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASCGet Free Report) shares crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.98 and traded as low as $16.16. Ardmore Shipping shares last traded at $16.4410, with a volume of 474,011 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ASC. Evercore set a $19.00 price objective on Ardmore Shipping in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Ardmore Shipping

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.87, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $669.64 million and a P/E ratio of 12.36.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASCGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $87.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.08 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 18.00%.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.29%.

Insider Transactions at Ardmore Shipping

In other news, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total value of $315,448.26. Following the transaction, the director owned 60,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,842.74. The trade was a 21.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Bart B. Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total value of $152,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 60,039 shares in the company, valued at $1,144,943.73. The trade was a 11.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $766,048 in the last 90 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $37,399,000 after buying an additional 24,244 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,749,153 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $20,762,000 after buying an additional 106,497 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,736,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $26,484,000 after buying an additional 266,275 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 1.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,298,294 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,411,000 after purchasing an additional 16,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ticino Wealth purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,647,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Ardmore Shipping Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ardmore Shipping and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.