Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.3333.

NVGS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Navigator from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of Navigator stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total transaction of $135,820.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total value of $590,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $118,150. This trade represents a 83.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navigator

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in Navigator by 1,124.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,677 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Navigator by 2,794.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,055 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 18.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navigator Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE NVGS opened at $21.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.46. Navigator has a one year low of $14.08 and a one year high of $24.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 18.84%.The company had revenue of $140.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $139.35 million. Analysts expect that Navigator will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.18%.

About Navigator

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).