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

Shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.3333.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVGS. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Navigator during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.95% of the company’s stock.

Navigator Stock Up 0.1%

NVGS stock opened at $23.40 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.45. Navigator has a 1-year low of $13.50 and a 1-year high of $23.47. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.76.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 18.84%.The business had revenue of $140.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $139.35 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Navigator will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid 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%.

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).