Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08), Zacks reports. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 36.22% and a return on equity of 23.63%.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ASC traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.43. 1,334,703 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 715,677. Ardmore Shipping has a 12-month low of $10.22 and a 12-month high of $23.44. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $436.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.84.

Ardmore Shipping Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is 20.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardmore Shipping presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

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.