Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Navigator from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Navigator from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Navigator from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Navigator currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.33.

Navigator Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $20.68 on Friday. Navigator has a 52 week low of $14.08 and a 52 week high of $24.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.62. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The shipping company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.32. Navigator had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 22.80%.The company had revenue of $167.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $139.46 million. Research analysts predict that Navigator will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Navigator Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Navigator’s payout ratio is 12.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Navigator news, COO Michael Schroder sold 25,000 shares of Navigator stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total transaction of $590,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,150. The trade was a 83.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Oeyvind Lindeman sold 6,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total value of $135,820.30. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Navigator

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Navigator by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 553,323 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,584,000 after acquiring an additional 131,351 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its stake in shares of Navigator by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,430,009 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,768,000 after purchasing an additional 311,259 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Navigator by 62.7% during the first quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,034,216 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $19,991,000 after purchasing an additional 398,615 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Navigator in the fourth quarter worth about $3,108,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Navigator by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 455,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,889,000 after acquiring an additional 40,500 shares in the last quarter. 18.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).