Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $23.00 According to Brokerages

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.00.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Navigator Trading Up 0.9%

Navigator stock opened at $21.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.48. Navigator has a 12 month low of $16.12 and a 12 month high of $25.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.32. Navigator had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 22.80%. The firm had revenue of $167.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.46 million. Analysts anticipate that Navigator will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.68, for a total value of $162,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,093.28. This represents a 50.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter George Charles An Stokes sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $101,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,910 shares in the company, valued at $140,134.80. This represents a 41.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Navigator by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,645 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 118,973 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 38,571 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Navigator by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 31,920 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its position in Navigator by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 38,842 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Company Profile

Navigator Holdings Ltd., operating under the name Navigator Gas, is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates a fleet of specialized gas carriers. The company transports liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petrochemical gases such as ethylene and ethane, ammonia and other liquefied gases for energy, industrial and chemical customers.

Its fleet includes semi-refrigerated and fully pressurized vessels, as well as ethylene-capable carriers designed to handle cargoes requiring specialized containment and temperature controls.