Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Share Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC)’s share price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.89 and traded as high as $19.03. Ardmore Shipping shares last traded at $18.9950, with a volume of 885,440 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ASC shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Ardmore Shipping from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Ardmore Shipping from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.26 and a quick ratio of 4.77. The firm has a market cap of $773.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.82.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shipping company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $87.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.67 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 30.11% and a return on equity of 15.38%.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. This is a decrease from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASC. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 10.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 49.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,309 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 20.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,629 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 12.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,937 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation is an international shipping company that owns and operates product and chemical tankers. Its vessels transport refined petroleum products and chemicals for customers in global seaborne markets. The company’s fleet includes medium-range and smaller tankers designed to carry cargoes such as clean petroleum products and liquid chemicals. Ardmore provides ocean transportation services to energy companies, commodity traders and other shipping customers. Founded in 2010, Ardmore is headquartered in Bermuda and serves international shipping routes.