Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Director Kirsi Tikka Sells 12,000 Shares

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total transaction of $227,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $671,466.03. This represents a 25.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of ASC traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $18.76. The stock had a trading volume of 878,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 707,184. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 4.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.67. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $9.18 and a fifty-two week high of $20.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $764.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.03.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $87.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.08 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.3%. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASC. Ticino Wealth acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth $7,647,000. Marnell Management LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth $3,877,000. Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth $3,177,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 848.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 324,295 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 290,087 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the fourth quarter worth $1,947,000. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.