Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) shares crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.77 and traded as high as $18.39. Ardmore Shipping shares last traded at $17.7470, with a volume of 657,121 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ardmore Shipping has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 3.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $722.84 million, a PE ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 4.87.

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

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.8%. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Curtis B. Mcwilliams sold 16,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total transaction of $315,448.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 60,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,842.74. This represents a 21.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total transaction of $227,160.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $671,466.03. The trade was a 25.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $766,048 in the last three months.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,033,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 93.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 139,639 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after buying an additional 67,473 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 184,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,819,000 after buying an additional 55,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $26,484,000 after buying an additional 266,275 shares in the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.