Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Receives $23.33 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.3333.

Several research analysts have issued reports on NVGS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Navigator from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th.

Navigator Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NVGS opened at $21.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.46. Navigator has a 12 month low of $14.08 and a 12 month high of $24.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.80. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $0.85 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Navigator will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter George Charles An Stokes sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $101,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,910 shares in the company, valued at $140,134.80. This represents a 41.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total value of $135,820.30. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVGS. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,677,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Navigator by 62.7% in the first quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,034,216 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,991,000 after acquiring an additional 398,615 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Navigator in the third quarter worth approximately $6,091,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Navigator in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,773,000. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its stake in Navigator by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,768,000 after acquiring an additional 311,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

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).