Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.50.

NVGS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Pareto Securities began coverage on Navigator in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Zacks Research raised Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research note on Monday.

Navigator Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE NVGS opened at $17.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.24. Navigator has a 12 month low of $10.55 and a 12 month high of $18.29.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The business had revenue of $153.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $133.84 million. Navigator had a net margin of 17.85% and a return on equity of 6.83%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Navigator’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is 18.54%.

Institutional Trading of Navigator

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,437,201 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $20,336,000 after buying an additional 99,326 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC raised its position in Navigator by 2.3% in the second quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 871,008 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,325,000 after acquiring an additional 19,365 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Navigator by 1.1% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 697,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,798,000 after acquiring an additional 7,574 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Navigator by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 542,756 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,224,000 after purchasing an additional 76,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Navigator by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 421,886 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,970,000 after purchasing an additional 47,391 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

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).