Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG) Lowered to Hold Rating by Pareto Securities

Pareto Securities downgraded shares of Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on LPG. Zacks Research cut Dorian LPG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Dorian LPG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dorian LPG in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Dorian LPG Stock Performance

NYSE LPG opened at $26.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.26. Dorian LPG has a 1 year low of $16.66 and a 1 year high of $32.79.

Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The shipping company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.09). Dorian LPG had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 26.02%.The firm had revenue of $124.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Dorian LPG will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Dorian LPG Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Dorian LPG’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.8%. Dorian LPG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Alexander C. Hadjipateras sold 5,000 shares of Dorian LPG stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $161,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 89,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,067.20. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 13.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dorian LPG

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Dorian LPG in the 2nd quarter worth about $165,210,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Dorian LPG by 2.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,667,332 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,686,000 after purchasing an additional 41,701 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Dorian LPG by 9.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,597,563 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $38,949,000 after buying an additional 136,723 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Dorian LPG by 3.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,112,333 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $27,121,000 after buying an additional 40,859 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Dorian LPG by 3,728.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 997,470 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $22,283,000 after buying an additional 971,419 shares in the last quarter. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.