Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Buys 40,500 Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 455,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,500 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Navigator were worth $7,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVGS. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 697,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,798,000 after acquiring an additional 7,574 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 542,756 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,224,000 after acquiring an additional 76,287 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,677,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,091,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,773,000. Institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE NVGS opened at $23.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.45. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 1 year low of $13.50 and a 1 year high of $24.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.03.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $140.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $139.35 million. Navigator had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 7.01%. Research analysts anticipate that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVGS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a report on Friday, March 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.33.

Navigator Profile

Navigator Holdings Ltd. is a global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of liquefied gases. The company’s fleet is purpose-built to carry a range of petrochemical gases, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethylene, propylene and ammonia. Navigator’s vessels are designed to meet the stringent safety and environmental standards required for handling pressurized and refrigerated gases, offering flexible capacity to customers across the energy and chemical sectors.

Navigator operates one of the largest and most modern fleets of gas carriers in the industry, with vessels ranging from fully pressurized gas carriers to specialized very large ethane carriers (VLECs).