Short Interest in Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Declines By 15.9%

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,850,000 shares, a drop of 15.9% from the February 28th total of 2,200,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 749,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,738,153 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $33,268,000 after buying an additional 24,030 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Ardmore Shipping by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,491,507 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,122,000 after acquiring an additional 101,229 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,413,554 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $17,175,000 after purchasing an additional 279,403 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,309,826 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $15,914,000 after buying an additional 63,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,204,828 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $14,639,000 after acquiring an additional 168,731 shares during the last quarter. 62.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ASC traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.75. 374,130 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 698,410. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 3.86 and a current ratio of 4.24. Ardmore Shipping has a fifty-two week low of $8.83 and a fifty-two week high of $23.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.74. The stock has a market cap of $394.23 million, a PE ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.23.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 32.78% and a return on equity of 20.48%. On average, analysts expect that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.46%.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

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.