Baird Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Dorian LPG Ltd. $LPG

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group cut its Dorian LPG stake by 31% in the second quarter, selling 23,650 shares and retaining 52,572 shares valued at approximately $1.83 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.5% of the company.
• Dorian LPG reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.52 exceeding estimates of $2.12 and revenue rising 123.1% year over year to $187.88 million. The company also paid a special $1.00-per-share dividend.
• The stock traded near its 52-week high at $58.38, while analysts maintained a consensus “Buy” rating and a $55 average price target. Company insiders sold 126,000 shares worth approximately $6.16 million over the past 90 days.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE:LPG - Free Report) by 31.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,572 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 23,650 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Dorian LPG worth $1,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Dorian LPG by 14.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,590 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in Dorian LPG by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 44,640 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,087,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Dorian LPG by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,206 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. SageGuard Financial Group LLC increased its position in Dorian LPG by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. SageGuard Financial Group LLC now owns 11,285 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Dorian LPG during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.50% of the company's stock.

Dorian LPG Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:LPG opened at $58.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 0.61. Dorian LPG Ltd. has a 52 week low of $23.76 and a 52 week high of $59.97. The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.04 and a 200 day moving average of $41.46.

Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The shipping company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $187.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.78 million. Dorian LPG had a net margin of 55.00% and a return on equity of 25.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 123.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share.

Dorian LPG Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dorian LPG

In other news, CFO Theodore B. Young sold 11,919 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $649,585.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 107,794 shares in the company, valued at $5,874,773. This represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tim Hansen sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.12, for a total transaction of $2,656,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,719,696. The trade was a 31.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 126,000 shares of company stock worth $6,163,449. 13.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LPG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Dorian LPG from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Dorian LPG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Dorian LPG from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Dorian LPG in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Pareto Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Dorian LPG in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $55.00.

About Dorian LPG

Dorian LPG Ltd. NYSE: LPG is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates very large gas carriers (VLGCs). The company primarily transports liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), including propane and butane, for energy producers, commodity traders and other customers in international markets.

Dorian LPG's fleet is designed for the ocean transportation of LPG between major exporting and importing regions. Its vessels support global trade routes linking LPG-producing areas, including the United States and the Middle East, with demand centers in Asia, Europe and other regions.

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