Sparta 24 Ltd. Acquires Shares of 225,414 Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE:LPG)

Key Points

• Sparta 24 Ltd. made a new investment of approximately $5.04 million in Dorian LPG Ltd, acquiring 225,414 shares which represent about 4.9% of its portfolio.
• Dorian LPG reported a quarterly EPS of $0.25, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.17, while revenue for the quarter fell by 46.3% year-over-year to $75.89 million.
• The company recently declared a dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 13.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 46.3% as of the last SEC filing.

Sparta 24 Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE:LPG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 225,414 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $5,036,000. Dorian LPG comprises approximately 4.9% of Sparta 24 Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Sparta 24 Ltd. owned approximately 0.53% of Dorian LPG as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Dorian LPG by 4.2% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,914 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Dorian LPG by 4.8% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,664 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Dorian LPG by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,593 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Dorian LPG by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 15,791 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Dorian LPG by 3.3% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 18,929 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dorian LPG Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LPG traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.50. The stock had a trading volume of 141,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,512. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.09 and a 200-day moving average of $23.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a current ratio of 3.54. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.77. Dorian LPG Ltd. has a 12-month low of $16.66 and a 12-month high of $42.38.

Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $75.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.04 million. Dorian LPG had a net margin of 25.52% and a return on equity of 8.88%. Dorian LPG's quarterly revenue was down 46.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Dorian LPG Ltd. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dorian LPG Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a yield of 13.5%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Dorian LPG from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Dorian LPG from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 1st.

About Dorian LPG

Dorian LPG Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas through its LPG tankers worldwide. It owns and operates twenty-five very large gas carriers. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.