Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Buys 398,615 Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) by 62.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,034,216 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 398,615 shares during the quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Navigator were worth $19,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Navigator by 50.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 76,496 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 25,756 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Navigator by 109.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 402,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,772,000 after acquiring an additional 209,760 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Navigator by 242.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,661 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 10,376 shares in the last quarter. Monashee Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,450,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 1st quarter worth approximately $660,000. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price 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 shares of Navigator from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Navigator has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.33.

Navigator Trading Up 0.0%

NVGS stock opened at $21.72 on Tuesday. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a 1-year low of $14.08 and a 1-year high of $24.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.51 and its 200-day moving average is $20.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $140.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.35 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 18.84%. Equities analysts anticipate that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Navigator

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

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).