Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.6667.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore boosted their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. HRT Financial LP purchased a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth $245,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,428,218 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,715,000 after acquiring an additional 20,009 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 383,960 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,066,000 after acquiring an additional 100,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marex Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 178.9% in the fourth quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 201,188 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,131,000 after acquiring an additional 129,063 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:ASC opened at $13.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $532.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of -0.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.84. Ardmore Shipping has a 12-month low of $8.32 and a 12-month high of $13.72.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The business had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.00 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

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.