StealthGas Inc. (NASDAQ:GASS – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 247,400 shares, a growth of 11.8% from the August 15th total of 221,200 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 336,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have weighed in on GASS. Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of StealthGas in a research report on Tuesday, July 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut StealthGas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 20th.
StealthGas Trading Down 0.7 %
NASDAQ:GASS traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3.04. The company had a trading volume of 4,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,715. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.72. The company has a market capitalization of $116.13 million, a PE ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 0.75. StealthGas has a 52 week low of $1.91 and a 52 week high of $4.18.
StealthGas (NASDAQ:GASS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 24th. The shipping company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.12. StealthGas had a negative net margin of 11.90% and a positive return on equity of 4.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On StealthGas
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GASS. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in StealthGas by 1,712.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 400,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after buying an additional 377,982 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in StealthGas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $281,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new stake in StealthGas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $237,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in StealthGas in the second quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC lifted its stake in shares of StealthGas by 94.3% in the first quarter. Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC now owns 20,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.48% of the company’s stock.
StealthGas Company Profile
StealthGas Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides seaborne transportation services to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers and users internationally. It also provides crude oil and natural gas. The company’s carriers carry various petroleum gas products in liquefied form, including propane, butane, butadiene, isopropane, propylene, and vinyl chloride monomer; and refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel, as well as edible oils and chemicals.