17,607 Shares in Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) Acquired by Corton Capital Inc.

Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,607 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Navigator by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,001,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,367,000 after acquiring an additional 102,711 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC increased its holdings in Navigator by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 852,608 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,088,000 after buying an additional 57,966 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Navigator by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 686,148 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,532,000 after buying an additional 136,160 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Navigator by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 641,745 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,851,000 after purchasing an additional 46,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in Navigator by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 467,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,168,000 after purchasing an additional 41,000 shares during the period. 18.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Navigator Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVGS opened at $13.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $904.53 million, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.12 and a 200-day moving average of $14.97. Navigator Holdings Ltd. has a one year low of $10.55 and a one year high of $18.18.

Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Navigator had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $144.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.87 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Navigator Holdings Ltd. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navigator Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. Navigator’s dividend payout ratio is 16.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Navigator in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Navigator presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

About Navigator

Navigator Holdings Ltd. engages in owning and operating a fleet of liquefied gas carriers worldwide. It provides international and regional seaborne transportation services of petrochemical gases, liquefied petroleum gases, and ammonia for energy companies, industrial users, and commodity traders. The company also offers ship shore infrastructure and consultancy services.