Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Shares Down 3.2% – Should You Sell?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASC. Fearnley Fonds raised Ardmore Shipping to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.12 and a 200-day moving average of $16.70. The firm has a market cap of $516.33 million, a PE ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.83%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 47.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,400,981 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,564,000 after acquiring an additional 449,200 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 27.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,124,835 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,343,000 after purchasing an additional 241,748 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ardmore Shipping by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 782,368 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $14,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,922 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 217.5% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 565,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,232,000 after buying an additional 387,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 135.1% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 308,200 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,936,000 after buying an additional 177,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

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.