Short Interest in StealthGas Inc. (NASDAQ:GASS) Expands By 336.2%

StealthGas Inc. (NASDAQ:GASS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,500 shares, an increase of 336.2% from the May 15th total of 4,700 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 86,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

StealthGas Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of StealthGas stock traded up $0.30 on Friday, hitting $6.73. 104,355 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 123,268. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $5.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. StealthGas has a 52 week low of $4.82 and a 52 week high of $7.68. The company has a market cap of $248.87 million, a PE ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.33.

StealthGas (NASDAQ:GASS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $42.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.40 million. StealthGas had a net margin of 40.87% and a return on equity of 11.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of StealthGas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StealthGas

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in StealthGas by 18.3% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 18,328 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in StealthGas by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 24,808 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 6,299 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in StealthGas by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 69,686 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 7,440 shares during the period. Towerview LLC increased its holdings in StealthGas by 0.3% during the first quarter. Towerview LLC now owns 2,770,000 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $15,650,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in StealthGas by 701.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,263 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 8,982 shares during the period. 66.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

StealthGas Company Profile

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