Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on NVGS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Navigator in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Pareto Securities initiated coverage on shares of Navigator in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Navigator in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.50.

Navigator Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $17.19 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 cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.16 and a 200-day moving average of $16.16. Navigator has a one year low of $10.55 and a one year high of $18.29.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,677,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,091,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,773,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Navigator by 143.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 263,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 155,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Navigator by 284.3% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 206,108 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,743,000 after buying an additional 152,470 shares during the period. 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).