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

Ardmore Shipping Co. (NYSE:ASC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, a growth of 15.6% from the August 15th total of 1,280,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 618,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 95.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Eqis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter worth about $46,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the first quarter worth about $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.45% of the company’s stock.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

ASC stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.60. 167,849 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 784,190. The company has a quick ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $537.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.56. Ardmore Shipping has a 1-year low of $8.75 and a 1-year high of $19.41.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $60.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.89 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 37.98% and a return on equity of 39.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is presently 17.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $16.00) on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Ardmore Shipping from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ardmore Shipping from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 14th.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation engages in the seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. As of March 15, 2023, the company operated a fleet of 22 owned vessels including 21 Eco-design and 1 Eco-mod vessel, and five chartered-in vessels. It serves oil majors, oil companies, oil and chemical traders, chemical companies, and pooling service providers.