Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) Short Interest Update

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,470,000 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the January 15th total of 2,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 901,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three investment 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

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth approximately $252,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 77.2% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 43,784 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 19,080 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 4th quarter valued at $2,631,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the 4th quarter valued at about $142,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the company's stock.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

ASC traded down $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $10.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,194,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,389. The business's 50-day moving average price is $11.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.54. The company has a market cap of $432.83 million, a P/E ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.25. Ardmore Shipping has a 12-month low of $10.12 and a 12-month high of $23.44. The company has a current ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 3.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 32.78%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping's payout ratio is currently 23.53%.

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.