Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on NVGS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.33.

Navigator Price Performance

NVGS stock opened at $23.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.38 and a 200-day moving average of $18.81. Navigator has a 12-month low of $13.50 and a 12-month high of $23.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.45.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $140.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $139.35 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 18.84%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Navigator will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at $597,000. Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,320,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Navigator by 165.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,797 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 131,359 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 4th quarter valued at $313,000. Finally, Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP purchased a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 4th quarter valued at $313,000. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navigator Company 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).