Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,440,000 shares, a growth of 47.9% from the May 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 653,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of Ardmore Shipping stock traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.79. 872,495 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 745,725. Ardmore Shipping has a twelve month low of $11.59 and a twelve month high of $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a market cap of $844.70 million, a PE ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.96.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The shipping company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $106.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.46 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 21.06% and a net margin of 29.15%. Ardmore Shipping’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This is a boost from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.96%. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 1st quarter worth about $54,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 87.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 1st quarter worth approximately $108,000. MJP Associates Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th.

About Ardmore Shipping

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.