Bart Kelleher Sells 8,000 Shares of Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock

Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC) President Bart Kelleher sold 8,000 shares of Ardmore Shipping stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.07, for a total transaction of $152,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 60,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,144,943.73. The trade was a 11.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ardmore Shipping Stock Performance

Shares of ASC opened at $18.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a current ratio of 4.33. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.18 and a twelve month high of $19.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $15.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.51. The firm has a market cap of $765.52 million, a P/E ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 0.03.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 7.02%. The firm had revenue of $87.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.08 million.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from Ardmore Shipping’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.3%. Ardmore Shipping’s payout ratio is presently 40.45%.

Ardmore Shipping News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ardmore Shipping this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large dividend raise — Ardmore declared a $0.39 quarterly dividend (ex-div May 29; payable June 12), up from $0.09 prior (a ~333% increase) and implying an ~8.3% yield. The hike signals strong cash generation and returns capital to shareholders, a major positive for income-focused investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on both EPS and revenue — Adjusted EPS $0.58 vs. $0.51 consensus; revenue $87.9M vs. $58.1M expected, with net margin ~13.2%. The beat supports the dividend move and near-term cash flow outlook. Earnings Release
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / commentary lift — A Seeking Alpha piece upgraded the view after the payout increase, arguing the bigger dividend turns ASC into a buy; some sell?side price targets (Evercore) and independent upgrades have already trended more positive. Ardmore Shipping: Doubling The Payout Turns It Into A Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory filing — Ardmore filed a Q1 2026 Form 6?K detailing fleet profile and risk landscape; useful for due diligence but not an immediate price catalyst. Form 6?K Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript available — The Q1 call transcript provides management commentary on earnings drivers, fleet deployment and outlook; watch commentary for guidance or chartering/contract trends that could alter sentiment. Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed — President Bart Kelleher sold 8,000 shares (~$152.6k) under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. While routine and planned, insider selling can be viewed negatively by some investors; note the filing indicates it was pre-arranged. SEC Filing

Institutional Trading of Ardmore Shipping

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ardmore Shipping during the third quarter worth $59,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 1,689.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,444 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 7,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Ardmore Shipping by 536.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,737 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ASC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ardmore Shipping from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Evercore set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

About Ardmore Shipping

Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a Bermuda-based provider of seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products. The company owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including medium-range (MR), long-range 2 (LR2) and Aframax vessels. Ardmore Shipping focuses on the ocean carriage of clean and dirty petroleum products under time charters, bareboat charters and spot voyages, serving a diverse customer base that includes major oil companies and trading houses.

Since its founding in 2005, Ardmore Shipping has grown its fleet through newbuilding contracts, second-hand acquisitions and fleet renewals, aiming to maintain a high quality, fuel-efficient profile.