StealthGas Inc. (NASDAQ:GASS) Short Interest Up 5.1% in March

StealthGas Inc. (NASDAQ:GASS) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 306,800 shares, an increase of 5.1% from the March 15th total of 291,900 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 178,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut StealthGas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GASS. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of StealthGas by 1,712.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 400,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 377,982 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of StealthGas by 103.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 566,171 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,412,000 after purchasing an additional 287,859 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in StealthGas by 7.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,096,360 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,930,000 after acquiring an additional 154,171 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in StealthGas in the third quarter valued at approximately $387,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in StealthGas in the second quarter valued at approximately $281,000. 66.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

StealthGas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GASS traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.90. The stock had a trading volume of 27,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,545. StealthGas has a 12-month low of $2.61 and a 12-month high of $7.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.28.

StealthGas (NASDAQ:GASS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The shipping company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. StealthGas had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 36.19%. The firm had revenue of $30.83 million during the quarter.

StealthGas Company Profile

StealthGas Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides seaborne transportation services to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers and users worldwide. It also offers 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, as well as ammonia; and refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel, as well as edible oils and chemicals.