Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 77,100 Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. $NVGS

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its holdings in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 532,988 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 77,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.86% of Navigator worth $10,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in Navigator by 1,124.1% during 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 period. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Navigator by 2,794.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,055 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Navigator during the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $22.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.53. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a one year low of $14.08 and a one year high of $24.36. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. The firm 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 17.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVGS. Zacks Research raised Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Navigator from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Navigator currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $23.33.

Insider Transactions at Navigator

In other news, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total value of $590,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,150. This trade represents a 83.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

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).