Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $20.44, but opened at $19.19. Navigator shares last traded at $18.12, with a volume of 134,699 shares trading hands.

The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $152.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.15 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 17.85%.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NVGS. Wall Street Zen raised Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a report on Monday, December 29th. Pareto Securities initiated coverage on shares of Navigator in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Navigator presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVGS. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Navigator by 1,124.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,677 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Navigator by 2,794.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,055 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Navigator during the third quarter worth about $43,000. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Navigator Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.99 and its 200 day moving average is $17.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.18.

About Navigator

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).