Key Points
- Director sale: Ardmore Shipping director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares for about $227,160 at an average price of $18.93, cutting her stake by roughly 25%.
- Strong quarterly results: The company reported EPS of $0.58 and revenue of $87.92 million, both above Wall Street expectations.
- Dividend boost: Ardmore Shipping raised its quarterly dividend to $0.39 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 8.3%.
Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) Director Kirsi Tikka sold 12,000 shares of Ardmore Shipping stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $227,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $671,466.03. The trade was a 25.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.
Ardmore Shipping Price Performance
Shares of ASC stock opened at $18.76 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.71. The company has a market cap of $764.11 million, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a quick ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.18 and a twelve month high of $20.02.
Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $87.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 business also recently declared 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 8.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Ardmore Shipping's dividend payout ratio is 117.29%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
ASC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.00.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Ardmore Shipping
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 31.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 77,769 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 18,500 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,701 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 7.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 234,987 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,301,000 after buying an additional 16,458 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 23.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 311,162 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,987,000 after buying an additional 58,330 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 7,972 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company's stock.
About Ardmore Shipping
(
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
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