Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on NVGS. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Pareto Securities initiated coverage on shares of Navigator in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Navigator in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Navigator in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Navigator from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

Navigator Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $17.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.42. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.30. Navigator has a 12 month low of $10.55 and a 12 month high of $18.29.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The shipping company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The company had revenue of $153.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $133.84 million. Navigator had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 17.85%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Navigator will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navigator

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVGS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Navigator by 165.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 210,797 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 131,359 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Navigator during the third quarter valued at $65,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Navigator in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Navigator by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 47,637 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 3,294 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Navigator by 2,794.4% in the third 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 last quarter. 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).