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

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.3333.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Navigator from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Navigator Price Performance

Navigator stock opened at $19.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.46. Navigator has a 52 week low of $14.08 and a 52 week high of $24.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The shipping company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $140.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $139.35 million. Navigator had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 7.01%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Navigator will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Navigator news, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of Navigator stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total transaction of $135,820.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total transaction of $590,750.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,150. This represents a 83.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Navigator by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 324,935 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,281,000 after acquiring an additional 12,256 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Navigator by 62.7% during the first quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,034,216 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,991,000 after purchasing an additional 398,615 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Navigator by 50.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 76,496 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 25,756 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Navigator by 109.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 402,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,772,000 after buying an additional 209,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in Navigator by 242.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,661 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 10,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).