Company Overview
StealthGas Inc. operates within the Industrials sector, specifically focusing on the Marine Shipping industry by providing seaborne transportation services for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers and users across the globe. Its fleet of LPG carriers is utilized to transport various petroleum gas products in liquefied form, including propane, butane, butadiene, isopropane, propylene, and other related compounds. The company currently holds a market capitalization of $345.60M, reflecting its status as a mid-sized entity in the shipping logistics space. With a trailing twelve-month revenue of $173.16M and a reported employee count listed as N/A, the organization demonstrates a significant operational scale despite the lack of specific headcount disclosure. The combination of a $345.60M market cap and $173.16M in annual revenue indicates that the company maintains a substantial position in the specialized LPG shipping market, generating nearly a dollar of revenue for every dollar of market capitalization.
Financial Health
The company reported a trailing twelve-month revenue of $173.16M and generated a net income of $60.65M, while its EBITDA reached $80.34M for the same period. The substantial gap between the $173.16M revenue and the $60.65M net income reveals a robust cost structure where operating expenses and taxes consume approximately 65% of top-line revenue. However, the free cash flow stands at -$22,048,366, indicating that the company is currently burning cash rather than generating it, which suggests limited financial flexibility for capital expenditures or unplanned opportunities without external financing. The gross margin is 53.8%, demonstrating high efficiency in converting LPG sales into revenue before accounting for operating expenses, while the operating margin sits at 25.8% and the profit margin reaches 35.0%. These three margins collectively indicate that for every dollar of LPG transported, the company retains a significant portion as profit after covering the costs of shipping and general operations. In terms of solvency, the company holds $99.08M in cash against $104,801 in debt, supported by a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, which portrays an extremely conservative and un-leveraged balance sheet. This liquidity position is further underscored by a current ratio of 9.30, signaling that the company possesses more than nine times the liquid assets required to cover its short-term liabilities. Management effectiveness is evidenced by a return on equity of 9.2% and a return on assets of 4.8%, metrics that show the company generates solid returns on shareholder capital and utilizes its asset base efficiently.
Valuation Assessment
StealthGas Inc. trades with a trailing P/E ratio of 5.67 and a forward P/E of 6.16, implying that the market anticipates a slight increase in earnings growth that would justify a higher valuation multiple in the future. The price-to-book ratio is 0.49, indicating that the stock is trading significantly below its book value and suggesting the market does not assign a premium to the company's tangible assets. Additional valuation context is provided by a price-to-sales ratio of 2.00 and an EV/EBITDA of 2.95, which suggest the company is valued at a discount relative to its sales and earnings generation compared to broader industry peers. The stock price has historically ranged between a 52-week low of $4.90 and a 52-week high of $10.52, providing a clear trading range for historical analysis. While the exact current price is not listed in the provided facts, the forward P/E of 6.16 is slightly higher than the trailing P/E of 5.67, suggesting the market expects earnings to grow in the coming year to support the higher multiple. The beta value is 0.20, which indicates that the stock exhibits very low volatility relative to the broader market, moving only 20% as much as the market index on average.
Growth & Income
The company's revenue growth year-over-year was -9.4%, while earnings growth year-over-year was 4.5%, demonstrating that profitability is expanding even as top-line revenue contracts. This divergence implies that the company is successfully managing its cost structure or benefiting from margin expansion that outpaces the decline in sales volume. Regarding income, the dividend yield is N/A and the payout ratio is 0.0%, indicating that the company does not currently distribute dividends to shareholders. Instead of paying dividends, the company reinvests its earnings or retains cash reserves, likely to fund operations or manage liquidity given the negative free cash flow. The overall growth and income profile reflects a mature asset-heavy business in a cyclical industry that prioritizes operational efficiency and balance sheet strength over shareholder payouts or aggressive top-line expansion.