Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Shares Down 3.2% - Should You Sell?

Shares of Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) traded down 3.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $12.01 and last traded at $12.03. 107,241 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 374,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ASC. StockNews.com downgraded Ardmore Shipping from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Ardmore Shipping from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $24.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.00.

Ardmore Shipping Trading Down 0.7 %

The business's fifty day moving average price is $12.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.70. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.33 million, a PE ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.31.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.83%. Ardmore Shipping's payout ratio is currently 20.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 12.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 131,120 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,954,000 after acquiring an additional 14,147 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ardmore Shipping by 8.2% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,802 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Ardmore Shipping by 2.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 110,808 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,496,000 after buying an additional 2,744 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the second quarter worth $34,000. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.